James Franco is definitely a celebrity that people have been distancing themselves from recently. Even James' former best friend and frequent colleague Seth Rogen has been taking a break from him. Although, some in the industry have said Seth's distancing isn't entirely accurate or authentic. Regardless, it appears as though James Franco is no longer the hot ticket in town. Actually, he's straight-up become a pariah.
If you remember back to the early 2010s, James was one of the most beloved, most famous, and hardest working actors in Hollywood. But even back then he was causing trouble. Granted, not nearly as much trouble as a few of the troubling allegations that have been leveled at him in recent years. Still, James on-set behavior managed to royally piss off another beloved actor.
James Has A Bad Reputation But So Does The Actor He Angered
James Franco, as gifted as he is, has always come across as someone who takes himself too seriously. This was an aspect of his personality that he himself made fun of at his 2013 Comedy Central Roast. After all, the man was an actor, a director, a producer, a writer, an artist, a photographer, and a teacher... But James taking himself too seriously has taken many shapes beyond his desire to be the best at multiple crafts.
In fact, it's this personality trait that got himself into major trouble with Tyrese Gibson.
Before we get into what actually happened between these two actors, it should probably be stated that Tyrese also has a complicated reputation. The Transformers actor has made a number of comments that vary from strange to downright troublesome. He's also interjected himself into a number of celebrity feuds, including the one between Vin Diesel and The Rock. Then there were comments he made in a 2017 interview with BET regarding women which he later apologized for.
Most troublesome of all was the fact that he was investigated for child abuse, according to TMZ. During this investigation, Tyrese's ex-wife and daughter were granted temporary restraining orders against him. This prompted Tyrese to hire a plane to write messages to his daughter in the sky. He also went on Instagram and passive-aggressive attacked his ex-wife, insinuating that she made up all of the physical abuse claims in order to get back at him for moving on.
Frankly, it all got extremely messy and no child abuse allegation should be taken lightly.
Between these incidents and his erratic behavior both online and behind-the-scenes, Tyrese has basically been canceled by Hollywood (aside from rumors of his own Fast and Furious spin-off). But before all this, fans seemed to side with him when he got into conflict with James Franco on the set of Annapolis.
James Franco's Feud With Tyrese Gibson
While both actors have less-than-stellar reputations nowadays, in 2007 James was getting the sharp end of the stick.
After the release of 2006's Annapolis, a film about the U.S. Naval Academy, Tyrese Gibson revealed that James Franco was full-on attacking him on set. Instead of pretending to fight for the camera, James repeatedly hit Tyrese, according to his interview with Elle. Despite the fact that Tyrese called him out for his behavior, James reportedly didn't change his behavior.
Why?
Well, because he took himself far too seriously.
"James Franco is a Method actor," Tyrese Gibson said to Elle in the 2007 interview. "I respect Method actors, but he never snapped out of character. Whenever we'd have to get in the ring for boxing scenes, and even during practice, the dude was full-on hitting me. I was always like, 'James, lighten up, man. We're just practicing.' He never lightened up."
While many actors would double down on actions like this for the sake of art or simply dispute the allegations, James didn't. In an interview with GQ in 2008, James accepted his behavior and apologized publically for any physical or emotional pain he caused Tyrese or any of his other cast-mates.
"I was probably a jerk," James Franco said to GQ in 2008. "I was not purposely cruel to him, but I was probably so wrapped up in my performance that I was not as friendly as I could have been. This is such a stupid issue... when I'm asked about it in the press it makes it seem as if it's still an issue. I think Tyrese is a sweet guy."
Despite an apology, Tyrese came right out and told Playboy that he wouldn't work with James again.
"I never want to work with him again... It felt very personal. It was f***ed up."
True to his word, Tyrese has never taken a job alongside James since.
