Actor James Franco claims mysterious video shows alien outside his home

It took James Franco weeks of preparation for a single day, when he finally posted on July 13: low-quality, black-and-white security camera footage that he claims proves the presence of some sort of "not human" near his residence.

In early June, James Franco made a comeback on TikTok under the username @JamesFranco2319. It was James Franco's first significant appearance on social media in years. 

Early videos from him suggested that he had some strange experience, because he constantly repeated something like being "hacked twice" and told followers that if he disappeared, they would know what happened.

What did James Franco's alien story show?

A tall, pale figure with elongated facial structure can be seen walking by a tree, followed by its approach towards the window and door. 

According to Franco, it is genuine footage of an alien appearance that occurred inside his garage late at night when the creature came out of the darkness with glowing eyes and hands. He did not verify the footage's authenticity.

There were many who mentioned inconsistency in the timestamp and the point where Franco's finger seems to disappear into the background of the footage, which means that it could have been added on the laptop screen rather than being extracted from a live video camera. 

It was believed by many commentators that it was just a man wearing a costume.

Speculation has centred on "Love Meets in the Sunshine", Franco's upcoming road-trip comedy directed by Christian Guiton. But Guiton has publicly denied any connection, stating on TikTok that the alien narrative isn't tied to promoting the film.

Franco, whose public profile dimmed after 2018 sexual misconduct allegations, has not clarified his intentions beyond insisting he isn't "acting crazy".