Seth Rogen won't work with James Franco after sexual misconduct charges

Actor-comedian Seth Rogen says he doesn't intend to work with actor James Franco again after allegations of sexually inappropriate behaviour cropped up against the latter.

May 10, 2021, 5:43 pm ISTNewsIANS

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Actor-comedian Seth Rogen says he doesn't intend to work with actor James Franco again after allegations of sexually inappropriate behaviour cropped up against the latter.

Rogen have Franco have had a long association on screen, having worked together in films such as "Pineapple Express", "The Interview", "The Green Hornet", "The Disaster Artist", "Sausage Party", "This Is The End", "The Sound And The Fury", and "The Night Before".

Rogen's assertion came in an interview he gave to The Sunday Times, London, reports variety.com. He opened up about the of the allegation against Franco, as well as his 2014 "Saturday Night Live" opening monologue where he had joked about a 17-year-old girl's allegation that Franco had directly messaged her on Instagram to meet up.

"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," Rogen had said in his monologue.

"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. 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," Rogen told The Sunday Times.

Franco had faced allegations of sexual misconduct in 2018, too, when many students at his former acting school accused him of intimidating them into sexual situations. Franco has denied all such allegations, but it led to a lawsuit that was settled in February.

After these allegations, Rogen had said he would work with Franco, but has now changed his stance.

"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," Rogen said, adding that it is "not a coincidence" that his professional relationship with Franco seems to have come to an end.

"I don't know if I can define that right now during this interview," Rogen said of their friendship, adding: "I can say it, um, you know, it has changed many things in our relationship and our dynamic."