Showbiz

James Franco: 'It's cool people think I'm gay'

Published Friday, Jul 22 2011, 21:23 BST | By Kristy Kelly | 8 comments

James Franco has insisted that he "likes it" when people say that he is gay.

The 127 Hours actor, who recently split with girlfriend Ahna O'Reilly after five years together, explained that speculation about his sexuality began when he was a young boy.

Franco told Playboy: "I had a close friend in school, and there were rumours that we were gay.

"Those rumours were started by - who knows? - people who were jealous, people who had been picked on, girls who had been picked on.

"So they started these rumours. I like it now that people said I was gay. It's kind of cool."

The 33-year-old admitted that he doesn't expect rumours to stop anytime soon.

Franco added: "I have a film coming up that I directed about the poet Hart Crane, and I give a b**wjob in that movie."

Watch the trailer for Howl, in which Franco portrays poet Allen Ginsberg, below: