Seth Rogen and James Franco were once an inseparable comedic duo.
But following several women’s allegations of sexual misconduct by Franco in 2018, the pair has been publicly estranged. Rogen recently told the New York Times that he hadn’t spoken to Franco “in a long time” and didn’t plan to work with him.
“Nothing has changed since the last time I talked about all this,” Rogen said, “and I haven’t worked with him in a really long time and I have no plans to.”
The actors got their start in Hollywood on the cult classic TV show “Freaks and Geeks.” At the time, Rogen was 16 and Franco was 21. As they continued to make their way through the industry, they became known for a string of well-loved early-2000s and 2010s comedies including “This Is the End,” “The Disaster Artist” and “Pineapple Express.”
Franco’s illustrious movie career came to a halt when five women, including several of his acting students, accused him of sexual exploitation. Some of the allegations included removing protective plastic guards covering actresses’ vaginas during the filming of intimate scenes, and Franco getting angry when actresses didn’t want to go topless.
Two of the accusers filed a class action in 2019, claiming sex discrimination, sexual harassment, fraudulent business practices and intimidation. Franco settled the case in 2021 for $2.2 million.
Rogen and Franco’s friendship has been a point of contention for the actor, as Rogen continues to climb the ranks in Hollywood. Just last year, “The Studio,”a show that Rogen created, writes, stars in, directs and produces won 13 Emmys and is currently filming its second season.
Rogen previously said he regretted saying that he could work with Franco again after the allegations surfaced.
“What I can say is that I despise abuse and harassment and I would never cover or conceal the actions of someone doing it, or knowingly put someone in a situation where they were around someone like that,” Rogen said in 2021, in an interview with the U.K.’s Sunday Times. “I also look back to that interview in 2018 where I comment that I would keep working with James, and the truth is that I have not and I do not plan to right now.”
The actor is still hesitant to detail the nuances of his friendship with Franco. He told the New York Times that it’s “a very personal thing.”
“There’s the public-facing side of it, which I’ve spoken about, and I have the same stance publicly that I’ve had, and I think the proof is in the pudding — I have not worked with him in years,” Rogen said. “But the personal side of it is just so nuanced, and it involves people that I don’t know if I should be dragging into this.”
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