According to these photos uploaded to Imgur by an unknown source, James Franco began private messaging a girl on Instagram sometime after 12 a.m. on April 2...
It was the usual back and forth, except that it's James Franco talking here...
...And he quickly starts asking her how old she is:
According to the messages, she is almost 18 years old.
The conversation appears to progress to text message:
She wanted proof that it was actually him, and he sent her a picture holding a piece of paper that had her name on it:
...along with what looks like a flip of the bird.
After these images got around, Franco uploaded this to Instagram:
So, is this a James Franco stunt or a leaking of private messages? We shall see.
Update: BuzzFeed has reached out to his rep for comment.