While the issue regarding James Franco's flirting with a 17-year-old girl is already cooling down, another controversy is heating up. This time, the cause is the actor's racy Instagram post showing him taking a selfie in front of the mirror, almost nude and covering his manhood.

The racy shot was taken Thursday night according to Yahoo News, but the actor immediately taken the photo down after an hour. Despite Franco's unlikely "damage control," the photo still went viral since netizens already grab a copy of the controversial photo.

James Franco is known to be a fan of selfies, posting various photos of himself in social networking site Instagram. He apparently loves to take "bed selfies" and to take photo with friends.

His recent almost nude photograph is not the only one the sparked criticisms about him. Recently, he went cosy with "Pretty Little Liars" actor Keegan Allen, posting a photo of them shirtless, tucked under a blanket and showing off their biceps.

More James Franco @JamesFrancoTV and Keegan Allen @KeeganAllen He really wants to blow up the social nets pic.twitter.com/yZjtNPE7Vs

— Andrei (@AndreiCrom) May 5, 2014

Keegan Allen, 24, reportedly visited Franco on the backstage of his Broadway show "Of Mice and Men" to greet him. While there were no plans of taking picture together, the co-stars in "Palo Alto" movie eventually took a "selfie in bed" when Allen opened up about the topic.

"There were a lot of people there and I asked him, 'What's the way to do the best selfie in bed?' and he showed me. And then he climbed in really quickly and he was like, 'Let's blow up Twitter for a second.'" Keegan Allen shares in an interview with E Online.

The "Palo Alto" star is quick to explain himself following his controversial posts when asked. In a report by the Associated Press, James Franco admitted that his series of selfies in bed, may he be alone or not, is his way to get the people talking. He shares that he did not meant to expose himself, but is just "playing around with like everybody else," trying to experiment on how people would react on his posts.

James Franco's movie "Palo Alto" alongside Emma Roberts and Keegan Allen is set for release on May 9, 2014 in the US. Speculations arise that Franco's alleged seduction of a 17-year-old girl is a mere publicity attempt to promote the film where he plays a soccer coach who is hitting on a high-school student played by Emma Roberts. [Read More]

Whether the racy photo is a manifestation of James Franco's artistic instincts or it is a stint to promote his new movie "Palo Alto" is yet to be known. However, one thing is for sure, the actor is getting the attention of the entertainment world by simply posting and conversing in an "unexpected" manner in his social media accounts.