Hollywood stars Seth Rogen and James Franco have been best buddies over the years, acting together in movies such as ‘This Is the End’, ‘The Interview’ and ‘Pineapple Express’. However, fans of the comedic duo might not ever see another collaboration between them.
Rogen, 39, has opened up about his friendship with Franco, 43, and the misconduct allegations levelled against the actor over the years.
“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,” Rogen said in an interview with The Sunday Times.
The first allegation against Franco came in 2014, when a then 17-year-old girl shared screenshots of alleged messages Franco sent her on Instagram asking to meet up at a hotel room. He was 35 years old at the time and many people questioned the appropriateness of the interaction.
Then in 2018, news broke that five women accused Franco of inappropriate behaviour while they were students at his former acting school. He denied the allegations; the case later went to court and was settled in February.
“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,” Rogen said in his interview.
Asked about their current relationship, he said: “I don’t know if I can define that right now during this interview. I can say it, um, you know, it has changed many things in our relationship and our dynamic.”
During the interview, Rogen was asked if the situation was “painful” for him and Rogen said: “Yeah. But not as painful and difficult as it is for a lot of other people involved. I have no pity for myself in this situation.”
