James Franco still waiting for President Obama's apology after name flub

Written by . Published: December 30 2017

James Franco is still hoping for an apology from former U.S. President Barack Obama after messing up the actor's last name while addressing the 2014 Sony Pictures hack.


Franco and his pal Seth Rogen starred in The Interview in 2014, in which their characters attempt to kill North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The film's controversial premise led members of the hacker group The Guardians of Peace to launch a cyber attack on the servers of Sony Pictures, the studio behind the comedy.

Following the incident, executives at Sony decided not to give the film a wide theater release - leading then-president Obama to condemn the hack and comment on the importance of artistic freedom. However, the top politician incorrectly referred to Franco as "James Flocko", and the Oscar nominee is still waiting for Obama to publicly acknowledge his mistake.

The 39-year-old recalled the moment during a recent Screen Actors Guild question and answer session, saying, "I remember watching television and Obama coming on after it (The Interview) had been pulled from theaters and saying, 'It should be shown in theaters. We should not be intimidated. This was a fun movie. I loved Seth Rogen and I loved James Flocko!'.

"I've told this story a few times hoping he'd hear it and say, 'James, I'm sorry I got the name wrong.'"

During the hack, hundreds of private emails between Sony employees and various celebrities were leaked online, prompting Franco to frantically remove private pictures from his own servers in case they were compromised, too.

"I took all my personal photos off my computer just in case!" he laughed of the cyber attack, which also made Sony bosses hire private security details for James and Seth. "They gave us a bodyguard and (we) stayed at a secured hotel for awhile."