James Franco has revealed why his long-time friendship with Seth Rogen is officially "over".
The actor, 46, has recently addressed the status of his 20-year friendship with fellow actor Seth Rogen stating that the two are no longer in contact.
The pair first met while starring in the 1999 teen comedy-drama series Freaks and Geeks and went on to work together on multiple projects, including 2008’s Pineapple Express, 2014’s The Interview, and 2017’s The Disaster Artist.
However, despite this, the pair have distanced since Franco was accused of sexual misconduct in January 2018 - a case that was settled outside of the courts.
Rogen publicly distanced himself, telling The Times that he had no plans to work with his ex-favorite co-star.
"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 at the time.
“The truth is that I have not and I do not plan to [work with Franco] right now,” Rogen continued, adding the allegations against Franco had affected their relationship.
In a new interview with Variety, Franco has spoken out about the matter.
When asked whether he was still in contact with the 42-year-old, he said: "No. I haven’t talked to Seth. I love Seth, we had 20 great years together, but I guess it’s over."
He then added that he didn't stop trying to re-ignite what they once had.
"And not for lack of trying. I’ve told him how much he’s meant to me," he told the outlet.
In 2018, five women – including four of Franco’s former pupils – came forward with allegations of sexually inappropriate behavior by the 46-year-old.
The suit alleged that Franco and some of his business partners had "engaged in widespread inappropriate and sexually charged behavior towards female students by sexualizing their power as a teacher and an employer by dangling the opportunity for roles in their projects".
According to the Los Angeles Times, at the time, Franco said the allegations were “not accurate” but that he did not want to "shut down" people who "did not have a voice."
In 2021, the suit, which was submitted on behalf of two of the actor's former students, was settled for $2.23m.
Regardless of this, Franco's latest project, Hey Joe, sees him working with Italian director Claudio Giovannesi and is set to be released this year at the Rome Film Festival.
In the drama, Franco plays Dean, an alcoholic American WWII veteran who comes back to Naples in the early ’70s in search of a son he fathered there before moving to New Jersey.
This will be his first major movie since the lawsuit.
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