Seth Rogen addresses James Franco fallout, says their collaboration days are over
The longtime collaborators parted ways after Franco faced sexual misconduct allegations
Seth Rogen has revealed that he does not expect to work with James Franco again, years after the pair’s longtime friendship and professional partnership ended.
The actors first worked together on the television series Freaks and Geeks before becoming frequent collaborators in films including Pineapple Express, This Is the End, The Interview and The Disaster Artist.
However, Rogen said he has no plans to reunite with Franco following the sexual misconduct allegations made against Franco in 2018.
Speaking to The New York Times, Rogen explained that the situation is deeply personal and complicated.
“I honestly think the nuance of it is too personal for me to get into right now,” Rogen said. “It is a very personal thing.”
He added that while he has previously shared his public stance, he does not want to involve other people connected to the situation.
“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,” he said.
Rogen continued, “Nothing has changed since the last time I talked about all this, and I haven’t worked with him in a really long time and I have no plans to.”
Franco stepped away from acting following multiple allegations of sexual misconduct from women in 2018.
In 2019, former students of Franco’s acting school Studio 4 filed a lawsuit against him and his business partners, alleging they were pressured into performing explicit scenes during classes. The lawsuit was later settled for $2.2 million.
Franco also previously acknowledged during an appearance on The Jess Cagle Podcast that he had relationships with students while teaching, saying he believed those situations were inappropriate.
Meanwhile, Franco previously addressed the end of his friendship with Rogen, saying in a 2024 interview with Variety that he believed their relationship was “over.”
“I love Seth, we had 20 great years together, but I guess it’s over,” Franco said, adding that he had tried to reach out to his former friend and collaborator.
