James Franco followed in the footsteps of Amanda Bynes, Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato, LeAnn Rimes, Emma Roberts and John Mayer and closed his Twitter account… sort of. The actor/professor/character made some lofty comments about social media dying, but it seems he didn’t actually quit. He made his social accounts private after upsetting his sponsors. Will he follow the celeb quitters’ trend and go public again when he has something to promote?
“Social media is over,”‘ James Franco told Politico.com. “My thought was ‘This is my Twitter. I can do whatever I want,’ but certain companies I work with contacted me about what I was saying.”
Franco did get a lot of flack for his feed, which he started in honor of his Oscar hosting gig earlier this year. Followers were treated to pics of him taking a catnap with his pets, videos that were straight up confusing and snarks at Hollywood folks like Oscar writer Bruce Vilanch.
There was also a Facebook page that correlated with the Twitter feed. That page is gone, as well. Though there are still several Franco pages left on FB, who knows who runs those.
The infamously busy star gets into everything from big screen foolishness and drama to daytime villainy on General Hospital to disappointing Oscar fans as host, not to mention clocking in as a student and as a college professor.
He suggests those of us who want to get something creative done take a break from social media. “If you want to write, make the time,” he said at an event for the creative writing nonprofit 826DC. “We all have an hour or two a day that can be used for surfing Facebook or writing. No one is going to beg any new writer to write.”
That is plum advice, but has Franco actually taken a break? Or is he just spending that social media time with his “real” friends instead of his fans? Either way, considering the track record of those who quit before him, SheKnows imagines he will resurface… perhaps when he has something to promote!
Celebs playing hard to get on Twitter
Franco isn’t the first celeb to back off from Twitter, but in a review of the list, it seems these celebs protest too much. Or at least, they come back when it serves them well, professionally. Here’s a list of some of the celebs who’ve had a rocky relationship with Twitter, starting with the most recent returnee, Miley Cyrus.
Miley Cyrus: Mileybird closed her Twitter account in October of 2009, leaving behind 2 million followers and making a music video to explain herself. This week, the diva is back at it, using her concert tour’s @gypsyhearttour account. “Yo guys! Its MC! Thank you so much for my KCA! =] PS I am taking over the Gypsy Heart twitter! Gotta keep ya posted on tour
Amanda Bynes: @msamandabynes quit Twitter and her acting career in the same move last June. A month later, however, she was back at it, just in time to promote Easy A. No more movies have landed (yet?), but her account is still active.
Demi Lovato: “Twitterbreak. Peace,” Disney princess @ddlovato tweeted to her 2.4 million followers in November 2010. “I love my fans so much but the access that the other people have is uncomfortable to me.” After some time in rehab, Lovato returned in March, tweeting, “Guess who’s baaaaaaaack…!!!!!!!”
LeAnn Rimes: “Taking a break from twitter for a while,” Eddie Cibrian’s fiance @leannrimes tweeted to her 555,000 followers last summer. “It’s unhealthy for me and my family to have to read negative comments from people who’s [sic] opinions have no bearing on my life.” A week later, she was back at it, tweeting, “Hi twitter land! Miss u all and thought I’d just say hello!”
Emma Roberts: Scream 4 star @robertsemma set off a firestorm when she announced she was Team Jacob back in 2010. The smart actress gave Team Edward and RPatz fans a little over a month to calm down and then returned to the Twittersphere.
John Mayer: Music’s bad boy took a “metaphoric retirement” from tweeting to his 3.7 million followers. He’s sure to return when his next album is ready to drop… or the next time he puts his foot in his mouth.
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