The extra hands and legs on Reese Witherspoon and Oprah on yesterday’s Vanity Fair cover were instantly infamous, but the bigger story may be what wasn’t there. According to The Hollywood Reporter, The Disaster Artist star James Franco was photographed alongside the “12 Extraordinary Stars” who ended up gracing Vanity Fair’s annual Hollywood issue, but, with 13 being an unlucky number—and, you know, the sexual misconduct allegations against him that were amplified after his Golden Globes win—he was digitally removed from the photo before it went to press.
Apparently, it’s pretty common for celebrities to be photographed separately and collaged together for these sorts of cover images, but removing one is, while not unprecedented, still a big deal. “We made a decision not to include James Franco on the Hollywood cover once we learned of the misconduct allegations against him,”a spokesperson confirms to THR. It’s not clear if Franco will show up to this year’s Oscars, given that he wasn’t nominated for Best Actor—an outcome The A.V. Club is just fine with—but if he decides not to go, we hear Casey Affleck is free that night.
