James Franco says he has no plans to work with former 'closest work friend' Seth Rogen
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Like stoners the world over, James Franco loves Seth Rogen, even though the two of them have had a falling-out after Franco was accused of sexually inappropriate behavior by multiple women in 2018.
Since then, Rogen has walked back initial comments that he would continue to work with the embattled actor and director, telling The Sunday Times in May, "I have not and I do not plan to right now."
Now Franco has spoken about Rogen's decision to distance himself professionally from him in an interview on SiriusXM's The Jess Cagle Podcast.
"He was asked about me, and I just wanna say I absolutely love Seth Rogen," Franco told Cagle. "I love Seth Rogen. I worked with him for 20 years. We didn't have one fight for 20 years. Not one fight. He was my absolute closest work friend, collaborator. We just gelled."
Darren Michaels/Columbia James Franco and Seth Rogen in 'Pineapple Express'
Rogen and Franco first met on the seminal millennial teen dramedy Freaks and Geeks before striking comedic gold with films like Pineapple Express, This Is the End, and, to a lesser extent, The Interview. Their last collaboration, 2017's The Disaster Artist, was perhaps their most fruitful, with Franco handling both directing and acting duties, to great acclaim.
Despite their professional accomplishments, Franco's personal problems — namely, his facing allegations that he sexually exploited his former acting students — has rendered any future collaborations dubious, at least for now.
"What he said is true. You know, we aren't working together right now and we don't have any plans to work together," Franco said. "Of course, it was hurtful, in context, but I get it. He had to answer for me 'cause I was silent. He had to answer for me, and I don't want that. So that's why, that's one of the main reasons I wanted to talk to you today: I don't want Seth or my brother or anyone to have to answer for me anymore."
Over the summer, Franco reached a deal with Sarah Tither-Kaplan and Toni Gaal, two of his former acting students who filed a sexual misconduct lawsuit against him in 2019. As part of it, Tither-Kaplan and Gaal agreed to drop their individual claims.
Franco admitted to Cagle that he did sleep with students, adding that he had grown "completely blind to power dynamics… but also completely blind to people's feelings." Having done "a lot of work" on himself in the years since the allegations against him were made public, Franco is tentatively stepping back into the limelight.
Watch a portion of Franco's interview with Cagle above. The full interview premieres Thursday, Dec. 22, on Sirius XM, and it will also air on SiriusXM's The Jess Cagle Show on SiriusXM Stars (ch. 109) on Thursday, Dec. 23, at 2:00 p.m. ET.
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