Seth Rogen Will No Longer Work With James Franco Amid Sexual Allegations

Although they first worked together on the short-lived cult classic TV show Freaks and Geeks, Seth Rogen and James Franco's collaborative period wouldn't truly kick into gear until 2008's Pineapple Express.

From there until The Disaster Artist in 2017, the hit-making pair seemed to give every impression that they were both an electric comedy duo and inseparable friends.

In a recent interview with The Sunday Times, however, Rogen revealed that this hasn't necessarily been true in recent years, nor does he anticipate that it will be in the foreseeable future.

To understand why their collaboration has ended, one must first understand the allegations Franco now faces.

According to USA Today, four years after he was caught propositioning a 17-year-old girl via Instagram, five women alleged that Franco had subjected them to inappropriate and sexually exploitative behavior in 2018.

Two of these women were former students of his at Studio 4, where they described some of this behavior as taking place. A lawsuit between these two and Franco reached a settlement in February.

When Rogen told *The Sunday Times* that he would no longer be working with Franco, he said that the timing of this announcement "is not a coincidence."

Although he said he couldn't define how these allegations have changed his friendship with Franco, he did say that it had a significant effect on their relationship and their dynamic.

He also amended a 2018 statement he made indicating that he would continue working with Franco despite the controversy.

In fact, the two haven't collaborated since The Disaster Artist and Rogen's interview with the Sunday Times makes it clear that he has no plans to change that fact.

He also addressed allegations stating that he had enabled Franco's behavior during the production of *The Disaster Artist*.

These came from actress Charlyne Yi, who said she wanted out of the movie and accused Franco of being a sexual predator.

For the most part, Rogen doesn't agree with this characterization as an enabler.

According to CNN, Rogen responded by saying, "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."

That said, he did express regret for a 2014 joke he made on *Saturday Night Live* that referenced the Instagram incident.

In his opening monologue at the time, he said, "To make myself feel better I decided to prank James Franco. I posed as a girl on Instagram, told him I was way young. He seemed unfazed. I have a date to meet him at the Ace Hotel."

Franco would later join him on stage.

But both as a person and as a comedian, he doesn't exactly look back on that bit with pride today.

During the Sunday Times interview, Rogen said, "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."

h/t: USA Today