Seth Rogen speaks out on ending 20 year friendship with James Franco
Seth Rogen said that his views towards James Franco have not changed after opening up about his former friend in a new interview.
The pair were once a formidable duo in Hollywood, collaborating on films such as Freaks and Geeks, Pineapple Express, Sausage Party, and The Interview; however, their friendship came to an end in 2018 after Franco was accused of sexual misconduct. The Los Angeles Times previously published claims that Franco had behaved sexually inappropriately towards five young women while mentoring them at his acting school.
He was later sued by two of the women, with the case being settled outside of court in 2021.
Following the allegations, Franco has remained largely absent from the public eye. His relationship with Rogen has also been non-existent, with the actor previously revealing that he was no longer in contact with The Studio star.
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Rogen has now issued a rare public statement regarding the status of his relationship with Franco, telling The New York Times' The Daily podcast that he 'has no plans' to collaborate with Franco.
Explaining that it is overall a very 'nuanced' situation for him, Rogen told Lulu Garcia-Navarro: "I’m trying to think how much I want to personally share about this.
"I honestly think the nuance of it is too personal for me to get into right now," he continued.
"It is a very personal thing, and I think there’s like the public-facing side of it, which I’ve spoken about, and I have the same stance publicly that I’ve had."
Rogen went on to explain that he was cautious about talking too much about the personal side of the breakdown of his and Franco's relationship, as it 'involves people that I don’t know if I should be dragging into this' but reiterated that he has not changed his stance towards Franco.
"Nothing has changed really since the last time I talked about all this," he said.
"I haven’t worked with him in a really long time, and I have no plans to."
When it came to communication with Franco behind-the-scenes, Rogen confirmed that it was still non-existent.
"I haven’t talked to him in a long time, no," he added.
Rogen had previously distanced himself from Franco after the allegations came to light, telling The Sunday Times: "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.
"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."
Meanwhile, Franco is currently eyeing a return to Hollywood, revealing during a recent appearance at Cannes that he was set to star in an undisclosed Hollywood production during 'spring-summer 2027'.
He also rejected suggestions that he'd been 'hiding away' in recent years, telling Deadline: "It’s not true I’ve been hiding out.
"I’ve been here the last three or four years running, selling things, and they treat me well, and I get to go and see great movies."
Asked if he felt like he'd been treated unfairly by the industry, he added: "I don’t know. What am I going to do? I just go forward and try to live a positive life."
LADbible has approached a representative of James Franco for comment.
Topics: Seth Rogen, James Franco, Celebrity
Brenna Cooper