Seth Rogen gives blunt response after he’s asked about friendship with James Franco

Seth Rogen has responded after James Franco said last year that their two-decade-long friendship was 'over'.

The two actors once had a bromance and they worked together on a number of films, such as The Interview, This Is the End and Pineapple Express. The pair’s companionship dates all the way back to 1999 when they starred in the cult classic TV series Freaks and Geeks.

After becoming a formidable duo in comedy, fans have seldom seen them together in recent years since Franco faced accusations of sexual misconduct in 2018, and Rogen publicly distanced himself from the actor.

The 127 Hours star has largely stayed out of the spotlight in the years since the accusations were made. Franco agreed to pay $2.2m (£1.6m) in July 2021 after being sued by two former students who had attended his now-defunct film school, Studio 4.

REUTERS/Alamy Stock Photo

Franco reflected on his career in an interview with Variety last year and he also touched on the current state of his friendship with Rogen. ​

"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," he told the publication.

In an interview published on Tuesday (11 February), Rogen was asked in an Esquire profile how it felt ‘to have something so personal become so public’ regarding the state of his friendship with his former co-star.

According to interviewer David Holmes, he was ‘clearly not surprised to get the question’ but was ‘just as clearly not happy about it’.

Referring to Franco’s previous comment, Rogen said: “Honestly, I absorb so little media that it really wasn’t on my radar.”

Holmes added: “That is all he wants to say about that.”

James Franco and Seth Rogen on Freaks and Geeks (NBC)

Rogen also spoke out in 2021 when he told the Sunday Times about the stance he was taking regarding his former friend.

"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." he said.

"I 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.

"I can say it, um, you know, it has changed many things in our relationship and our dynamic."