Last month, artist and actor Charlyne Yi explained that she quit the 2017 film The Disaster Artist over director James Franco's sexual misconduct allegations, alleging that she had been bribed with a bigger role to keep quiet. She also alleged that Seth Rogen was an enabler, and the Canadian actor has now spoken out.
In a new interview with the Sunday Times to promote his Yearbook memoir, Rogen explained that his friendship with Franco has been strained by the various allegations lodged against him over the years.
In 2018, Rogen said that he planned to keep working with Franco. Responding to his past quotes, Rogen 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."
When asked about Yi's accusations that he was an enabler, Rogen said, "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 joke in question saw Rogen pretend that he had pranked Franco by posing as a 17-year-old girl to lure Franco in on Instagram — a reference to a real-life scandal that happened in 2014 where a 17-year-old girl shared screenshots of alleged messages between Franco and herself, which showed the actor, then 35, attempting to arrange a meeting in a hotel room.
Nearly a month later, Franco would tell SiriusXM's Howard Stern, "Seventeen is legal in New York, but that being said, it's still pretty damn young. They make it out like I'm pursuing young women. I'm not going to high schools looking for dates."
When asked if Rogen was still friends with Franco, he 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."
The interviewer asked Rogen if it was painful, and he said, "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."
After sporting a Time's Up pin at the 2018 Golden Globe Awards, Franco was accused of sexual misconduct by three women. Upon Franco calling the allegations "not accurate" the following day, five more women came forward with claims of "inappropriate" and "sexually exploitative" behaviour from the actor.
Franco reached a settlement with two of the women, former students of his Los Angeles acting school, this past February.
In a new interview with the Sunday Times to promote his Yearbook memoir, Rogen explained that his friendship with Franco has been strained by the various allegations lodged against him over the years.
In 2018, Rogen said that he planned to keep working with Franco. Responding to his past quotes, Rogen 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."
When asked about Yi's accusations that he was an enabler, Rogen said, "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 joke in question saw Rogen pretend that he had pranked Franco by posing as a 17-year-old girl to lure Franco in on Instagram — a reference to a real-life scandal that happened in 2014 where a 17-year-old girl shared screenshots of alleged messages between Franco and herself, which showed the actor, then 35, attempting to arrange a meeting in a hotel room.
Nearly a month later, Franco would tell SiriusXM's Howard Stern, "Seventeen is legal in New York, but that being said, it's still pretty damn young. They make it out like I'm pursuing young women. I'm not going to high schools looking for dates."
When asked if Rogen was still friends with Franco, he 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."
The interviewer asked Rogen if it was painful, and he said, "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."
After sporting a Time's Up pin at the 2018 Golden Globe Awards, Franco was accused of sexual misconduct by three women. Upon Franco calling the allegations "not accurate" the following day, five more women came forward with claims of "inappropriate" and "sexually exploitative" behaviour from the actor.
Franco reached a settlement with two of the women, former students of his Los Angeles acting school, this past February.
