Seth Rogen And James Franco’s 25 Year Friendship Is Over, Actor Confirms, ‘Nothing Has Changed..’

Seth Rogen is still standing by his decision to cut all ties with James Franco, ending Hollywood’s most recognised creative partnerships. Years after Franco’s career was derailed by the allegations of sexual misconduct, Rogen has asserted that nothing has changed when it comes to where he stands with his former professional and personal pal. 

James Franco’s acting school is accused of sexually exploiting two women

Seth Rogen recently appeared on The New York Times’ The Daily podcast, where he talked about how he navigated the end of such an important friendship. Rogen acknowledged that the topic remains deeply personal to him and said, “I mean, I’m trying to think how much I want to personally share about this.” During the conversation, while Rogen refrained from going into details about what happened, he confirmed that his stance on the matter has not changed. He was quoted as saying:

“I honestly think the nuance of it is too personal for me to get into right now. 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. And I think the proof is in the pudding more than anything. I have not worked with him in years, you know, but the personal side of it is just … it’s so nuanced, and it involves people that I don’t know if I should be dragging into this.”

Has Seth Rogen reconsidered connecting with James Franco?

In the same conversation, Seth Rogen also reflected on his decision not to have children and confirmed that “nothing has changed really since the last time I talked about all this.” He then delivered his clearest statement yet about the future of their relationship, saying, “I haven’t worked with him in a really long time, and I have no plans to.” Rogen was further asked whether he had been in touch with James Franco, to which he revealed that he hadn’t talked to the actor in a long time.

The comments come as Franco attempts to rebuild his acting career years after multiple allegations of inappropriate sexual behaviour surfaced. For the unversed, Pineapple Express actor was first accused of sexually inappropriate conduct by five women in a Los Angeles Times report published in January 2018. A year later, in 2019, his former students filed a class-action lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court alleging that Franco and his associates pressured students into performing explicit scenes on camera and engaged in inappropriate behaviour toward female students.

More about the allegations against James Franco

According to the complaint, the women alleged they paid monthly tuition to attend the school. However, instead of helping them become better-skilled actors, they were subjected to intimidation and sexual objectification while being promised potential acting opportunities. James Franco agreed to settle the lawsuit in June 2021, signing off on a payment of USD 2.235 million.

During his appearance in an interview in 2024 with Variety, Franco reflected on his journey and said he was “so grateful to be working. I went through a lawsuit, and during it, I wasn’t working. But then COVID hit, so everybody wasn’t working. So, I don’t know, it was all… I mean, we were all kind of in it. So it was sort of like, ‘I don’t know what I am.'” The actor was promoting his film, Hey Joe. He even addressed his collapsed friendship with Seth Rogen and said:

“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.”

image credit: TheInterview/YT, boxoffice/Reddit, JamesFancoFanPage/IG

What are your thoughts on Seth Rogen’s revelations about his bond with James Franco following the sexual assault allegations?

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