James Franco has bowed out of his opportunity to give the commencement speech at this year’s UCLA graduation.
Franco was scheduled to revisit his alma mater on June 12th to deliver a speech to the College of Letters and Science students, but has since cancelled.
James issued a statement saying, "I deeply regret not being able to keep my commitment to giving the commencement speech at UCLA's graduation this year. Unfortunately the date conflicts with me needing to be on location to begin pre-production on my next film. I wish everyone in the 2009 class the best of luck in all of their future endeavors."
UCLA has reached out to alternate speakers, but hasn’t locked anyone down yet. Other big name speakers that day will include Arianna Huffington, and Oliver Stone.
We have trouble believing James really had to be on the set of a new movie. We heard through the grapevine that the ULCA seniors weren’t pleased with their school’s choice to have James give a speech.
Sources say James was an average student who would often sleep during class. Not exactly the best role model! There’s even a Facebook page dedicated to those who are against having James as their commencement speaker!
So, whether James has a prior commitment or not, we think it was a wise choice to bow out!
