Seth Rogen Refuses to Work With James Franco Due to Abuse Allegations

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Comedian Seth Rogen reveals that he has chosen not to continue working with James Franco due to the abuse allegations against his long-time collaborator. The two actors have partnered together for a number of films and television projects over the years. Notably, they originally worked together on the 1999 cult show Freaks and Geeks, followed by multiple onscreen comedies, including Pineapple Express, This Is the End, and The Disaster Artist. Their last collaboration was the 2019 film Zeroville, which Franco directed and starred in alongside Rogen.

During this time, a growing number of allegations of abuse and sexual harassment have surfaced against Franco. In 2014, a 17-year-old girl came forward to disclose that Franco had allegedly messaged her on Instagram and invited her to meet up with him at a hotel. In 2018, students from his acting school accused the actor of sexual exploitation and later filed a lawsuit against him, which reached a settlement in February of this year. Despite these charges, Rogen has periodically worked with Franco on various projects and even joked about the allegations. In 2014, Rogen hosted Saturday Night Live and teased that he had pranked Franco by pretending to be a young girl on Instagram.

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While speaking to The Sunday Times, Rogen shared that he no longer had any plans to keep working with Franco. He offered a few details about his evolving perspective on their friendship:

“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… I don’t know if I can define [our friendship] right now during this interview. I can say it, um, you know, it has changed many things in our relationship and our dynamic.”

When asked about the abuse claims, Rogen noted that he has purposefully stepped away from any professional partnerships with Franco. He added, “…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.” He subsequently acknowledged that he regretted his infamous joke on SNL, calling it “terrible.” Although Rogen admitted that he found their estrangement difficult, he also recognized that the situation was much more painful for others and that he harbored no pity for himself.

While Rogen’s decision to avoid collaborating with Franco due to his exploitative behavior is certainly a step in the right direction, it is unfortunate that it took him this long to explicitly disavow the actions of his friend and professional colleague. Only last month, actress Charlene Yi criticized Rogen for enabling Franco’s toxic actions on the set of The Disaster Artist. For years, female entertainers and production crew have not only reported their experiences with predatory harassment, but have also vocalized the widespread enabling of such abuse by men in power. More often than not, it has been easier for those in charge to turn a blind eye and reap the benefits of silence, rather than work alongside their female colleagues as allies. Rogen’s explicit condemnation of abuse is the correct one, but it needs to remain coupled with clear and unwavering action for true change to take effect.