This is the end of Seth Rogen and James Franco’s creative partnership.
Rogen revealed in a new interview that he has absolutely no plans to continue working with with Franco following multiple waves of sexual misconduct accusations against his one-time pal and collaborator.
“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,” the comedian told the U.K.’s Sunday Times.
The statement comes on the heels of Charlyne Yi — Franco’s former co-star in 2017’s The Disaster Artist — accusing Rogen and others of enabling Franco’s alleged mistreatment of women in an April Instagram post. The 2017 film, which was co-produced by Rogen, won the actor-director his second Golden Globe.
“Why aren’t any of James Franco’s white male ‘feminist’ peers holding him accountable for abusing women then using his power and platform to gaslight them?” she wrote at the time. “Seth Rogen literally gave a statement saying that men’s opinions don’t matter about a men’s issue, but went on [Saturday Night Live] using his white male voice and power to do a sketch with Franco, normalizing preying on underage girls.”
During his interview with the Sunday Times, Rogen also expressed contrition over the SNL sketch Yi mentioned in her post.
“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,” he said, adding, “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.”
He also admitted Franco’s ongoing legal issues have impacted the duo’s longstanding friendship, saying, “I can say it, um, you know, it has changed many things in our relationship and our dynamic.”
Rogen and Franco have collaborated on multiple films over the course of their careers, including 2008’s Pineapple Express, 2013’s This is the End and 2014’s The Interview.