Seth Rogen hasn’t spoken to James Franco in 'a long time' and has 'no plans' to work with him again
Seth Rogen hasn’t spoken to James Franco in 'a long time' and has 'no plans' to work with him again
Shania RussellSun, June 14, 2026 at 10:36 PM UTC
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James Franco and Seth Rogen attend the Golden Globes in 2018Credit: Michael Kovac/GettyKey Points -
Seth Rogen recently shared an update on his relationship with James Franco.
The former collaborators and friends have not worked together since 2018, when Franco was accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women.
Rogen, who rarely comments on his former friend, has said that he has no intention of working with Franco again.
Seth Rogen has not reconnected with his old pal, James Franco and doesn't plan to change that anytime soon.
In the five years since Franco settled a sexual misconduct lawsuit from former students of his acting school, Rogen says nothing has changed when it comes to where they stand today — both personally and professionally.
Asked about the nature of their relationship during a recent sit-down with The New York Times, Rogen hesitated to say too much.
"I honestly think the nuance of it is too personal for me to get into right now. It is a very personal thing," he told the outlet. "There's 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 — I have not worked with him in years. But the personal side of it is just so nuanced, and it involves people that I don't know if I should be dragging into this."
Seth Rogen and James Franco arrive at a New York City 'Pineapple Express' screening in 2008Credit: Bryan Bedder/Getty
Rogen then clarified that "nothing has changed" since he last discussed the subject.
"I haven't worked with him in a really long time and I have no plans to," he added. "I haven't talked to him in a long time."
For decades, Franco and Rogen were friends and longtime collaborators after getting their start on the short-lived cult TV series, Freaks and Geeks. Though it only lasted a season, the comedy marked a breakthrough role for the two performers — Rogen, 16, and Franco, 21 — and their partnership led to films such as Pineapple Express, This Is the End, and Sausage Party.
Their final collaboration was 2017's The Disaster Artist, a dramatization of the making of The Room, for which Franco won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy, for his performance as Tommy Wiseau. In solidarity with the MeToo movement, he wore a Time's Up pin to the 2018 ceremony, prompting five women to come forward and accuse him of sexual misconduct. Two of those women — Sarah Tither-Kaplan and Toni Gaal — were former students of Franco's now defunct acting school Studio 4, and went on to launch a sexual misconduct lawsuit against the actor.
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After a tumultuous few years, the lawsuit was settled in 2021. That same year, Rogen stated that he had no intention of working with Franco again, in the wake of the allegations.
Seth Rogen and James Franco in 'Pineapple Express' (2008)Credit: Darren Michaels/Columbia
"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 told The London Times," adding, "I do not plan to [work with Franco again] right now."
He has repeated similar sentiments in the years since, rarely speaking more in depth on the subject.
In 2024, Franco publicly lamented the end of their friendship, confirming that they had fallen out of contact.
"I haven't talked to Seth. I love Seth, we had 20 great years together, but I guess it's over," he said. "And not for lack of trying. I've told him how much he's meant to me."
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A year later, asked how it felt to "have something so personal become so public," Rogen claimed he didn't even know Franco had spoken publicly about their relationship.
"Honestly, I absorb so little media that it really wasn't on my radar," he told Esquire in 2025, declining to comment further on the matter.
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
