Seth Rogen says he has no plans to work with James Franco again, adding that he hasn’t spoken with him in a long time. His remarks come amid renewed public friction between the two former collaborators, after Franco acknowledged misconduct in 2021 and later sa
Seth Rogen didn’t answer James Franco’s name right away. In the “The Interview” podcast episode published June 13, he paused for several seconds, as if measuring what could be said without dragging more people into a private mess.
Rogen, 44, ultimately made the boundary clear. He said he has no plans to work with Franco again after allegations of sexual misconduct were made against the actor in 2018, and that he hasn’t worked with him in years. He also said he hasn’t “talked to him in a long time.”
“I haven’t worked with him in a really long time and I have no plans to,” Rogen said on the New York Times podcast “The Interview,” adding that he also hasn’t “talked to him in a long time.”
When he was asked about Franco in the interview, Rogen said he was considering how much he wanted to “personally share about this.” He added that the “nuance of it is too personal for me to get into right now.”
“It is a very personal thing. ” he said. continuing: “There’s the public-facing side of it. which I’ve spoken about. and I have the same stance publicly that I have. and I think the proof is in the pudding more than anything. 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.”.
Rogen and Franco’s on-screen and real-life connection spans decades. They met on the 1999 NBC series “Freaks and Geeks. ” became friends for years. and later collaborated on multiple movies during the 2000s and 2010s. including “Pineapple Express. ” “This Is the End” and “The Disaster Artist.” After Franco was accused of sexual misconduct in 2018. Rogen cut ties professionally.
The legal and personal fallout has stretched across years. Franco has been accused of inappropriate behavior by former students at Studio 4, the film school he ran that closed in 2017. In 2021. he settled a lawsuit brought by Sarah Tither-Kaplan and Toni Gaal. who alleged that Franco and his partners “sexualized their power as a teacher and an employer by dangling the opportunity for roles in their projects.” The suit claimed Franco “was looking to create a pipeline of young women who were subjected to his personal and professional sexual exploitation.”.
Franco acknowledged part of what was described. In a 2021 interview with SiriusXM. he said: “over the course of my teaching. I did sleep with students. and that was wrong.” He added: “I suppose at the time. my thinking was if it’s consensual. OK. Of course, I knew talking to other people – other teachers or whatever – it’s probably not a cool thing. At the time, I was not clearheaded.”.
That history resurfaced publicly in later interviews. Speaking with Variety in 2024. Franco said he had not been in touch with Rogen and that they were no longer friends. “I haven’t talked to Seth,” he said. “I love Seth, we had 20 great years together, but I guess it’s over. And not for lack of trying. I’ve told him how much he’s meant to me.”.
When Franco’s comments were revisited in a 2025 interview with Esquire, Rogen deflected. He told the outlet, “Honestly, I absorb so little media that it really wasn’t on my radar.”
The sequence of statements—Rogen’s refusal to return to any professional relationship. Franco’s admission tied to his teaching. and Franco’s later claim that the friendship ended—keeps returning to the same point: the personal history between two collaborators is now inseparable from the allegations that pushed their relationship into the public record.
Seth Rogen James Franco misconduct allegations Studio 4 Freaks and Geeks Pineapple Express This Is the End The Disaster Artist Sarah Tither-Kaplan Toni Gaal New York Times podcast The Interview