For several years now, James Franco has been effectively blacklisted by many Hollywood studios due to several sexual misconduct allegations that arose over the years, including one from a woman that said she was underage when the actor reached out to her on social media. Obviously, when it comes to these sorts of allegations, the accused is typically out of the spotlight, as they should be given the severity of the claims. However, we never really get to see what happens behind the scenes with someone like Franco and all of his Hollywood friends, such as Seth Rogen. Well, in a new interview with The Sunday Times, Rogen opens up about how the accusations against Franco have effectively ended their professional relationship and greatly changed their friendship.
Speaking bluntly about the Franco situation, Rogen admits that he didn’t handle things very well at the beginning, even making light of the situation while hosting ‘SNL.’ But he does want everyone to know that he doesn’t associate with Franco in a professional way anymore, and he doesn’t think that’s going to change.
“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,” admitted Rogen. “However, I do look back at a joke I made on ‘Saturday Night Live’ in 2014 and I very much regret making that joke. It was a terrible joke, honestly. And 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.”
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He added that it’s “not a coincidence” that their professional relationship ended around the same time that all of this news has been coming out about Franco’s alleged misconduct. As for their personal friendship that has been fostered over the years and resulted in numerous film collaborations, Rogen also said that the relationship has been changed.
“I don’t know if I can define [the status of the friendship] right now during this interview,” he said. “I can say it, um, you know, it has changed many things in our relationship and our dynamic.”
When asked if this change has been painful, Rogen replied, “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.”
In addition to the underage girl on social media, Franco was accused by multiple women of being exploited sexually while the actor was teaching classes in a university setting, often putting the women in uncomfortable situations that seemed only used for his own sexual gratification. He settled out of court with two of the women.
Rogen and Franco collaborated on a number of films including the incredibly popular “Pineapple Express” and “This is the End.” They also co-starred in “The Interview,” which carried its own controversy, prompting a cyberattack due to the film’s political nature.
For those wondering, here’s the joke from the ‘SNL’ monologue from Seth Rogen where he talked about pranking James Franco: