Seth Rogen recently told The New York Times that he hasn’t spoken to James Franco “in a long time” and has “no plans” to work together again.
When asked where her relationship with Franco stands after facing sexual misconduct allegations, Rogen replied, “Honestly, I think the nuances of that are too personal for me to go into right now. It’s a very personal thing. There’s no public side to it. Yes, I’ve talked about it, and I’ve taken the same stance in public. I think the proof is in the pudding. I haven’t worked with him in years, but the personal side is exactly the same.” Nothing has changed since we last talked about this, and I haven’t worked with him in a long time and have no intention of doing so. ”
Later, NTY’s Lulu Garcia-Navarro asked Rogen if he was still talking to Franco, to which Rogen replied, “I haven’t talked to him in a long time.”
Rogen and Franco once boasted a powerful one-two punch in Hollywood. Their collaboration began on Paul Feig’s short-lived youth series Freaks and Geeks, which aired for one season on NBC in late 1999. Rogen was 16 years old and Franco was 21 at the time. The two have since appeared in “Knocked Up,” “Pineapple Express,” “This Is the End,” and “The Interview.”
Franco’s career was derailed in 2018 by five women, four of them the actor’s students, who accused him of sexually exploitative behavior. In 2019, two of the women filed a class action lawsuit against Franco, alleging that he “sexualized his power as a teacher and employer by dangling project role opportunities, and engaged in widespread inappropriate and sexual conduct with female students.” Franco settled the case in 2021 for $2.23 million.
This isn’t the first time Rogen has turned down the idea of re-teaming with Franco. In a 2021 interview with The Sunday Times, Rogen said he was open to working with Franco again in 2018 and regretted shelving a potential reunion.
“I also commented in a 2018 interview that I would continue to work with James, but the truth is that we haven’t worked together yet and have no intention of doing so,” Rogen said.
Franco told Variety about his relationship with Rogen in 2024: “No, I haven’t talked to Seth. I love him. We had 20 great years together and I think it’s over. And it’s not for lack of trying. I told him how much he means to me.”
