Seth Rogen has confirmed that he has 'no plans' to ever work with former friend and co-star James Franco again. The 44-year-old actor, best known for his role in Knocked Up, collaborated with Franco, 48, on a series of hit comedies after they first met on the set of Paul Feig's cult 1999 series Freaks and Geeks.
Rogen and Franco's professional partnership
Together, they headlined films such as Pineapple Express, This is the End, and The Interview, becoming one of Hollywood's most prominent double acts. However, their partnership ended in 2018 after five women, four of whom were former acting students of Franco, accused him of 'sexually exploitative' behavior. A year later, two of those women filed a lawsuit, claiming that Franco 'engaged in widespread inappropriate and sexually charged behavior towards female students by sexualizing their power as a teacher and an employer by dangling the opportunity for roles in their projects.' Franco settled the case in 2021 for $2.23 million (£1.66 million).
Rogen's current stance
Since then, Rogen and Franco have not worked together. Speaking to the New York Times about his current relationship with Franco, Rogen described the situation as a 'very personal thing.' He stated, '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. 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. I don't know what I would benefit from getting deeply into it. 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.' When asked whether he still talks to Franco, Rogen clarified: 'I haven't talked to him in a long time, no.'
Previous comments and changing stance
The pair have not worked together since the release of The Disaster Artist in 2017, which was directed by Franco and produced by Rogen. Rogen previously indicated in 2018 that he would consider working with Franco again once the dust had settled. However, by 2021, his stance had changed. He told the Sunday Times' Culture Magazine in 2021: '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.' He added: 'I 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 do it right now.'
Franco's perspective
As for Franco, he said in a 2024 interview with Variety that their friendship was all but 'over.' When asked whether he was still in touch with his former friend and collaborator, he replied: 'No. I haven't talked to Seth. I love Seth, we had 20 great years together, but I guess it's over. And not for lack of trying. I've told him how much he's meant to me.'
Franco had accused defendants Sarah Tither-Kaplan and Toni Gaal of being 'attention-hungry' and making 'false and inflammatory' claims for publicity. However, he later agreed to a settlement to resolve the lawsuit, describing himself as 'not clearheaded' when he slept with students at his acting school. He also stressed that he had not started the school to lure women for sexual purposes. 'I suppose at the time, my thinking was “if it’s consensual, OK,”' he said on The Jess Cagle Podcast in 2021. 'At the time I was not clearheaded.'
Franco's recent projects
Since then, Franco has quietly returned to the screen with Claudio Giovannesi's gritty drama Hey Joe and the Italian-American superhero film Bunny-Man. It was recently confirmed that he will appear in the 2027 prequel John Rambo in what is expected to be a villainous role.
Metro.co.uk has reached out to Seth Rogen and James Franco's representatives for comment.
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