Comedy Central's next celebrity roastee? James Franco.
That's right, the puzzling, polarizing actor -- who's also an author, artist and perpetual grad student, among other vocations -- has agreed to put himself in the hot seat as the next famous face to get knocked by a panel of comedians on national television.
Comedy Central Roast of James Franco will tape next month and premiere on Labor Day.
"If only James Franco was a more successful, multihyphenated, incessant creative risk taker in different media, he'd be the perfect person to roast. Oh well ... I suppose we'll just have to make do," Comedy Central's Kent Alterman, president, content development and original programming, said in a statement Wednesday.
Franco added: "I've dreamed about this roast for as long as I can remember."
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(In a separate video statement on his Instagram page, the 35-year-old star -- looking like he just woke up -- slurred, "Hey yo, what's up? I'm gonna get roasted on Comedy Central. Be sure to check it out. They wanted me to tell you that.")
Franco being Franco, there should be plenty of fodder for his special on the the cable network, which has previously roasted Donald Trump, Charlie Sheen, Joan Rivers and Roseanne Barr. Franco's most public foible was perhaps his disastrous turn co-hosting the 2011 Oscars with Anne Hathaway during which Franco seemed to mentally check out while Hathaway struggled to pick up his slack.
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler referenced the Franco/Hathaway fiasco while emceeing the Golden Globe Awards earlier this year. Addressing Hathaway, Fey cracked: "You gave a stunning performance in Les Miserables. I have not seen someone so alone and abandoned like that since you were onstage with James Franco at the Oscars."
