It seems like This Is the End for the comedic duo of James Franco and Seth Rogen. The two starred in several films together such as The Interview, Sausage Party, and The Disaster Artist which earned Franco his Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical in 2018. The actor's win was quickly drowned out by five women who came forward about Franco's sexually exploitative behavior that year.
Rogen stood by James and said that he would keep working with him. But the two haven't collaborated on any project since 2018. With Rogen keeping his distance from Franco while being tagged as an enabler, where does their friendship stand today?
Rogen Doesn't Want To Work With Franco Anymore
Seth Rogen announced in a recent interview that he doesn't plan on working with James Franco again amid the sexual harassment accusations against the 127 Hours actor. "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," Rogen told The Sunday Times.
The Pam & Tommy star also expressed his regrets on making a joke about the allegations in 2014 when Franco was accused of pursuing an underage girl. "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 said.
During the sketch, Rogen told the audience: "To make myself feel better 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."
People Think Rogen Is Just Avoiding The Enabling Accusations
Many people are doubting the sincerity of Seth Rogen's recent statements about not planning on working with James Franco. Even one of Franco's accusers, Charlyne Yi called Rogen out for lying. Yi made a statement against Rogen just a month before his interview. In an Instagram post, the This Is 40 actress called Franco a "sexual predator" and Rogen his "enabler."
Fans also pointed out that Rogen never apologized or directly addressed Yi's claims. Many of them believe that the Knocked Up actor is just trying to clean his image and get himself out of Franco's controversy, especially since Rogen has recently announced the release of his memoir called Year Book. It'll be available as an audiobook narrated by celebrities such as Snoop Dogg, Sacha Baron Cohen, and Rogen's writing partner Evan Goldberg.
Franco, who Rogen has worked with since their teenage years starting in the short-lived series Freaks and Geeks, is not going to be one of the narrators. Still, some people think it's only a tactical move to make more sales. Many fans are debating whether Rogen is just a bad friend or simply concealing the real nature of his relationship with Franco by saying he stands with his accusers. Either way, people are convinced that Rogen is only looking after himself.
Rogen Doesn't Know The Status Of His Friendship With Franco
When asked about the real status of his friendship with the Spider-Man actor, Seth Rogen said, "I can say it, um, you know, it has changed many things in our relationship and our dynamic." The Long Shot star didn't give a detailed answer and went on to describe this situation as "not as painful and difficult as it is for a lot of other people involved." He even added that he has no pity for himself in all of this.
Like Rogen said himself, there's no clear definition for his friendship with James Franco these days. But what's getting the fans' attention these days (what maybe everyone should pay attention to) is Charlyne Yi's checklist for Seth Rogen's commitment to sexual assault awareness.
The list calls Rogen to "apologize to survivors for making their lives even more vulnerable by publicly siding with an abuser, further damaging their careers and safety," "commit to educating self about coercion, sexual assault, and how to be a protective ally," and "to promote, protect and hire survivors of sexual abuse and misconduct."
Yi has opened up about trying to quit The Disaster Artist when more accusations against Franco started to come up. "Seth Rogen was one of the producers on this film so he definitely knows about the bribe and why I quit … White men perform infantilism when it comes to sacrificing their white supremacy & patriarchy bc they actually don’t care," Yi wrote on her Instagram.