Seth Rogen says it 'wasn't on my radar' when James Franco revealed their friendship was over

Seth Rogen isn't losing sleep over his relationship status with James Franco.

Three years after Franco settled a sexual misconduct lawsuit from former students of his acting school, he made headlines for revealing that he has fallen out of touch with Rogen, his former friend and creative partner. Asked how it felt to "have something so personal become so public," Rogen recently admitted that he didn't really take notice of Franco's comments.

"Honestly, I absorb so little media that it really wasn’t on my radar," Rogen told Esquire, declining to comment further on the matter.

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Asked about the duo's relationship status in October 2024, Franco replied, "I haven’t talked to Seth. 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."

Related: Ranking Seth Rogen's comedic film pairings

The longtime collaborators, who were once close friends, first met as teenagers on the short-lived cult TV series, Freaks and Geeks. The comedy marked a breakthrough role for the young actors and though the show only lasted a single season, their partnership would persist, leading films including Pineapple Express (which sees them costar as a stoner and marijuana dealer who accidentally witness a murder), This Is the End (in which they portray caricatured versions of themselves attempting to survive an apocalypse), and Sausage Party (the raunchy animated tale of a drug addict in a world with anthropomorphic food).

The Disaster Artist, a dramatization of the making of The Room, marked their final collaboration. Franco also directed the film and went on to win a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy, for his performance as Tommy Wiseau. In solidarity with the MeToo movement, he wore a Time's Up pin to the 2018 ceremony, prompting five women to come forward and accuse him of sexual misconduct. Two of those women — Sarah Tither-Kaplan and Toni Gaal — were former students of Franco's now defunct acting school Studio 4, and went on to launch a sexual misconduct lawsuit against the actor.

After the lawsuit was settled in 2021, Rogen made it clear that he has no intention of working with Franco again, in the wake of the allegations.

"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 said in a new interview with The London Times," adding, "I do not plan to [work with Franco again] right now."

Related: Busy Philipps accuses James Franco of assaulting her during filming of Freaks and Geeks

Months later, Franco confirmed Rogen's statement, telling Howard Stern, "What he said is true. You know, we aren't working together right now and we don't have any plans to work together… 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."

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