In the media

Viewed as a sex symbol, Franco was named the Sexiest Man Living in 2009 by Salon.com. There has often been frequent media coverage of Franco, particularly regarding his interest in going to colleges. In addition to that, Franco has also claimed to have been strongly misquoted by reports in the media  and news outlets reporting erroneous information about him.This led to the actor being parodied in an episode of SNL's Weekend Update segment, which an Entertainment Weekly writer deemed "clever". In a 2011 interview, he stated:

I’ve been perceived as this guy yelling, "Hey, look at me. I want attention." I’m not going to school to get articles written about me. I’m just going to school. But the fact that I’m going to school or that someone takes a picture of me sleeping is like, "We’re gonna jump on that and criticize him for his antics." What antics? I write. I make movies. I’m going to school. I hosted the Oscars. I take these projects seriously.

In response to questions regarding his sexuality now that he has portrayed three gay characters during his acting career, he insists he finds plenty more dimensions to the characters than their bedroom proclivities. "Or, you know what," he quipped, "maybe I’m just gay." Those rumors led to a Gawker article linking him to a New York Post Page Six blind item about acloseted gay actor, nicknamed "the Gay Rapist". Despite the victim of the alleged attack denying that it was Franco, two magazines then contacted Franco's lawyer to alert them that they might run stories suggesting his involvement, but were unable to, as at least part of their stories were fabricated. However, Gawker refused to take their article down as they were simply reporting what another outlet published and instead offered him a chance to make a comment about the speculation on its website. He declined, hoping it would die down. The actor later called the episode very offensive because he has friends who have been raped.

In April 2012, Shalom Life ranked Franco and his brother, Dave, together as number two on its list of 50 talented and attractive Jewish men.  In 2013, Franco was featured as the cover model and featured focus in the men's magazine Man of the World.

Personal life

In 2008, Franco was named as the face of Gucci's men's fragrance line. Regarding his secular upbringing, he told The Guardian that he feels as if he has "missed out on the Jewish experience", but has been told not to worry about that by his Jewish friends and said in the same interview that he likes "the idea of religion as a source of community." When asked if he was a "believer," he responded "In God? I don't know. Yes. To a certain extent. It's a complicated question." After meeting on the set of Whatever It Takes, Franco dated co-star Marla Sokoloff for five years. He was later in a relationship with actress Ahna O'Reilly, until 2011. He confirmed their separation in an interview for Playboy magazine's August 2011 issue, saying that his interest in education got between them.

Education

Franco, dissatisfied with his career's direction,  reenrolled at UCLA in autumn 2006 as an English major with a creative writing concentration. He received permission to take as many as 62 course credits per quarter compared to the normal limit of 19, while still continuing to act. He received his undergraduate degree in June 2008 with a GPA of 3.5/4.0. or his degree, Franco prepared his departmental honors thesis as a novel under the supervision of Mona Simpson. While at the university, the actor studied French, the Holocaust, philosophy of science, and American literature among other things. To continue acting, he would study on film sets.

He was selected as the commencement speaker at his alma mater, UCLA, and was to speak at the ceremony on June 12, 2009. Several months before commencement, an editorial in the student newspaper questioned his "caliber" and a student created a Facebook page protesting the choice. On June 3, Franco withdrew, citing a date conflict with location pre-production on a film.  On January 26, 2011, Franco and the Harvard Lampoon released a satirical video on prominent comedy website Funny or Die mocking his last-minute cancellation.