James Franco is on a promotional tour of Claudio Giovannesi’s Hey Joe. In a recent chat with Variety, Franco spilled beans about his longtime friendship with his frequent collaborator Seth Rogen. The actor shared that his 20 years of friendship with The Interview collaborator and Canadian comedian is seemingly over.
James Franco Says His Friendship With Seth Rogen Is Over
James Franco and Seth Rogen have been one of the notable pair of friends in Hollywood. They have been frequent collaborators and friends for over 20 years. The duo collaborated on several projects together including, Freaks and Geeks, The Disaster Artist, Pineapple Express and This Is The End. However, they had a huge fallout and Franco said that it was far from patching up.
“I haven’t talked to Seth,” Franco told Variety. “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.”
Addressing the fallout, in 2021, Franco openly discussed the sexual misconduct allegations against him and the end of his relationship with Rogen. The Canadian actor previously told The Sunday Times that year that he had no plans to work with Rogen again.
In 2014, Franco made headlines for asking out a 17-year-old girl on Instagram. In the wake of the #MeToo movement, the incident sparked huge controversy for which he later apologized. However, that same year, both Franco and Rogen joked about the incident on SNL during their hosting appearances. Later in a 2018 interview with Vulture, Rogen confirmed he would continue working with Franco. However, Regan later reflected on the situation and seemingly cut ties with his longtime pal.
“I do look back at a joke I made on ‘Saturday Night Live’ in 2014 and I very much regret making that joke,” Rogen told The Sunday Times in 2021. “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,” the Long Shot actor added.
James Franco And Seth Rogen “didn’t have one fight for 20 years”
Franco and Rogen who met as teenage actors had a remarkable friendship. In a 2021 interview with Jess Cagle on SiriusXM’s The Jess Cagle Podcast, Franco candidly shared details of the falling out with Rogen.
“Of course, it was hurtful in context, but I get it. He had to answer for me, ’cause I was silent. He had to answer for me and I don’t want that. And so that’s why it’s one of the main reasons I wanted to talk to you today. I don’t want Seth or my brother (actor Dave Franco) or anyone to have to answer for me anymore,” Franco said.
The actor who is making a comeback to cinema previously added in the interview, “We didn’t have one fight for 20 years. Not one fight. He was my absolute closest work friend, collaborator. And we just gelled and what he said is true: We aren’t working together right now, and we don’t have any plans to work together.”
Regardless, it is fair to assume that the iconic friendship between the stars has evaporated but Franco still has respect for his This Is The End co-star. Again, it appears that fans will never see the duo collaborating on a project again.
