If you put a gun to my head and told me to pick the two celebrities most likely to defend Shia LaBeouf‘s pretentious, self-serving ‘performance art,’ I’d pick James Franco and Jaden Smith, because … well, birds of a feather and all that. So of course, here’s James Franco defending Shia’s ‘art’ instead of rightfully raking him over the coals for blatant intellectual theft. Via Us Weekly …
“Any artist, regardless of his field, can experience distance between his true self and his public persona,” Franco said. “But because film actors typically experience fame in greater measure, our personas can feel at the mercy of forces far beyond our control. Our rebellion against the hand that feeds us can instigate a frenzy of commentary that sets in motion a feedback loop: acting out, followed by negative publicity, followed by acting out in response to that publicity, followed by more publicity, and so on.”
He continued to support the former child star’s recent work, but also sent out a final warning. “I think Mr. LaBeouf’s project, if it is a project, is a worthy one,” Franco concluded. “I just hope that he is careful not to use up all the good will he has gained as an actor in order to show us that he is an artist.”
tl;dr, James thinks his “art” is more important than getting permission from an artist to use their work or compensating them after the fact. And now, here’s Jaden bringing all 15 years of his sheltered, entitled wisdom to the game, via Page Six …
The 15-year-old took to Twitter to support the troubled star’s performance art. Titled “#IAMSORRY,” LaBeouf’s Beverly Hills gallery “show” invited visitors to sit across from him, as he wore a bag over his head, and try to elicit a reaction from the actor. “I waited in line today . . . to see [LaBeouf]. I never got [to] see him but I had a very important message to deliver,” Smith tweeted. “I’m here if you need a fellow insane person to talk to.”
And then of course, Jaden referred as himself as “an artist”, even though he’s only famous because his dad Will Smith bought him After Earth and The Karate Kid. Once again, there are two major logical fallacies here: First, you can’t call yourself an artist. That’s presumptive as hell, and more often than not you’re just some narcissistic douche trying to exaggerate your own work. Second, this is not art. Shia LaBoeuf stole someone else’s work and he’s trying to bury the lead. The fact that either of them bought into proves they have no idea what they’re talking about.