Seth Rogen Is Being Praised For His Comments About Ending His Friendship With James Franco

For years, Seth Rogen and James Franco were one of Hollywood's most recognizable comedy duos. From Freaks and Geeks to Pineapple Express and The Disaster Artist, the pair built a friendship and creative partnership that spanned more than two decades.

But in early 2018, that relationship began to unravel.

On January 11, 2018, just days after Franco won a Golden Globe for The Disaster Artist, the Los Angeles Times published allegations from five women who accused him of sexually exploitative and inappropriate behavior. Four of the women were former students at Studio 4, Franco's acting and film school, and alleged that he had engaged in inappropriate conduct while in positions of authority over female students.

Two of the women filed a class-action lawsuit in 2019, accusing Franco of:

"[W]idespread inappropriate and sexually charged behavior towards female students by sexualizing their power as a teacher and an employer by dangling the opportunity for roles in their projects."

The controversy ultimately created a lasting divide between the longtime collaborators.

Speaking to the Sunday Times, Rogen spoke on the allegations and his stance:

"What I can say is that I despise abuse and harassment, and I would never cover or conceal the actions of someone doing it.”

Later that year, Franco publicly acknowledged that he had slept with students from his former acting school, saying the relationships were wrong because of the power imbalance. He also revealed that he had been receiving treatment for sex addiction.

Reflecting on the end of his longtime partnership with Seth Rogen, Franco said:

"He was my absolute closest work friend, collaborator. We just gelled… What he said is true, you know, we aren't working together right now, and we don't have any plans to work together."

Now, Rogen is addressing the situation once again. In a new interview with the New York Times, the actor and filmmaker explained why he has remained reluctant to discuss the personal details of their falling out.

Explaining why he prefers to keep parts of the situation private, Rogen said:

“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 first met on the set of Freaks and Geeks in 1999, when they were 17 and 21, respectively.

Despite their film collabs, Rogen revealed that he and Franco still have not spoken in quite some time:

"I don’t know what I would benefit from getting deeply into it in this moment. Nothing has changed since the last time I've talked about all this, and I haven’t worked with him in a really long time, and I have no plans to."

You can view the interview here:

Rogen's comments come as Franco has slowly begun returning to higher-profile projects. The actor was recently cast in an upcoming Rambo prequel, and told Deadline last month that he had just finished shooting a "big studio movie" while focusing on living a "positive life."

Because Rogen rarely discusses the topic publicly, his latest remarks have generated significant attention online:

Rogen continues to enjoy a successful run of his own. On January 11, 2026, he won his first Golden Globe for Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy for his role as Matt Remick in Apple TV+'s The Studio.

Joking about the surreal moment during his acceptance speech, Rogen said:

"This is so weird! We just pretended to do this... I thought the only way I would get to hold one is to create a show to give myself a fake one."

As Franco works on a slate of new projects, online discussion around Rogen's interview has focused less on the fractured friendship itself and more on his refusal to waver from the position he adopted following the allegations. Many fans have praised him for standing by those values, even when it meant walking away from a decades-long friendship.