Seth Rogen addresses his friendship with James Franco collapsing
Seth Rogen has addressed comments James Franco made in an interview with Variety last year, in which the 127 Hours star claimed the pair weren’t friends anymore.
Rogen and Franco were almost inseparable onscreen for two decades, having broken through in 1999 on NBC’s Freaks and Geeks. Subsequently, they starred in a host of comedies together, such as Pineapple Express, Knocked Up, The Interview, This Is The End, and The Disaster Artist.
However, in 2018, Franco was accused of inappropriate sexual behaviour by multiple women. After this, he was accused of manipulating acting students into exploitative sexual situations, and he wound up settling one case against him out of court. At the time of the initial accusations, Rogen stood by his friend and said he’d keep working with him, but he later walked back those comments.
“I also look back to that interview in 2018 where I comment that I would keep working with James,” Rogen told The Times in 2021, “and the truth is that I have not, and I do not plan to right now.” At that time, he didn’t confirm or deny that their friendship had officially ended, but he did admit “it is not a coincidence” that they became more distant after the allegations. “I can say it, um, you know, it has changed many things in our relationship and our dynamic,” Rogen confessed.
Fast-forward to 2024, and Franco claimed their friendship was dead to Variety. “No. I haven’t talked to Seth,” he admitted. “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.”
Now, with Rogen on the publicity trail for his new AppleTV+ show, The Studio, Esquire magazine asked him about Franco’s comments—and he reportedly didn’t look happy about it.
He claimed that he doesn’t pay attention to the news or social media buzz surrounding him and simply replied, “Honestly, I absorb so little media that it really wasn’t on my radar.” However, the outlet noted that he didn’t seem surprised to field the question, and his curt response was all he would say on the matter.
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