James Franco and Seth Rogan have been friends for 20 years. Image Source: Fox News 

James Franco and Seth Rogen became one of the most famous duos in comedic history after they starred in the short-lived NBC comedy-drama "Freaks and Geeks". The duo was part of the main cast, and they hit it off immediately and became good friends, even though the show was called off after one season.

One of the many beautiful things about their bromance was the fact that James Franco revealed that he wrote poems about their friendship. The two later collaborated on a movie, "The Interview," which was based on their encountering North Korea’s dictator, Kim Jong-un, for an interview. The movie received a lot of threats and resulted in an underwhelming box office performance, but was highly appreciated for the comedy it had and the performances of the actors were also appreciated by the fans. 

James Franco and Seth Rogen have been friends for almost two decades, and the audience has adored their bond as much as they did on and off-screen. In 2018, James Franco's name was under fire because of the allegations made by five women (former students) and a case filed in 2019 for him being inappropriate and luring women into sexual situations. James Franco settled the lawsuit in February 2021.

Seth Rogen, in his interview with The Sunday Times, admitted that he has no plans to work with James Franco following his several allegations. He said, "I also look back to that interview in 2018 where I commented that I would keep working with James, and the truth is that I have not, and I do not plan to right now." On asking about whether the allegations had affected their relationship, Seth said, "I don’t know if I can define that right now during this interview. I can say it, um, you know, it has changed many things in our relationship and our dynamic. "

Seth also addressed his 204th ‘Saturday Night Live’ opening monologue, where he joked about a 17-year-old girl’s allegation that James Franco had direct messaged her to meet up. Seth said in his monologue, "I decided to prank James Franco. I posed as a girl on Instagram and told him I was way too young. He seemed unfazed. I have a date to meet him at the Ace Hotel. " Explaining the joke, Seth told The Sunday Times, "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. However, 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. "

The Interview star also confirmed in the interview that it is "not a coincidence" that his professional relationship with his longtime friend James Franco seems to have come to an end post the allegations. When commented by the Times that it must have been painful and hurtful for a partnership of 20 years to come to an end like this, Seth replied, "Yeah. But not as painful and difficult as it is for a lot of other people involved. I have no pity for myself in this situation. "

Seth Rogen and James Franco have no plans on working together as of now. Image Source: USA Today 

Seth Rogen’s comments also came out a month later when his co-star Charlyne Yi of "The Disaster Artist" took to her social media to call out the predatory and toxic behavior that took place during the filming, and she clarified that she tried to quit the movie because of the allegations against James and held Seth Rogen accountable, calling him "an enabler".

James Franco has now finally broken his silence on the matter with his podcast interview with The Jess Cagle Podcast on SiriusXM, where he admits that he has slept with his students, and it was wrong of him to do that. The actor also clarified that he had no intentions of luring women for sexual favors in the name of education and that his encounters or relationships with his students were consensual.

The actor was asked about the comment made by Seth Rogen in May 2021 and James Franco said, "We aren’t working together right now, and we don’t have any plans to work together — of course, it was hurtful, you know, in context, but I get it. He had to answer for me, because I was silent. It’s one of the main reasons I wanted to talk to you today. ... I don’t want Seth or my brother or anyone to have to answer for me anymore."

James Franco further said, "He was asked about me, and I just want to say I absolutely love Seth Rogen. I love Seth Rogen. I worked with him for 20 years. For 20 years, we didn't have a fight. Not one fight. He was my absolute closest working friend and collaborator. We just gelled. "

The actor finally added that he has been taking help and has done a lot of work on himself over the years since the allegations were made public. James Franco mentioned that he does not want to hurt anybody, and that is one of the reasons he is addressing the allegation now rather than talking about it earlier because he needed to listen to the people he has caused pain and hurt. James Franco is regarded as one of the finest actors in the industry who is now trying to step back into the limelight and, hopefully, in the future, on-screen too.

Do you think they will work through this friendship? 

The full interview will premiere on December 23, 2021, at 2:00 P.M. ET. Till then, you can watch the clips of his interview that are available on YouTube.