Here's the Real Reason You May Never See a New Seth Rogen and James Franco Movie Again
May 10 2021, Published 7:31 p.m. ET
James Franco and Seth Rogen gave us movies like Sausage Party, The Interview, and Pineapple Express and have maintained a relationship both on and off set for the last decade. But recent reports suggest that their friendship may have come to an end.
James Franco was accused of sexual misconduct and, in a recent interview with The Sunday Times, Seth Rogen addressed the allegations against his former friend. But what did James Franco do, and why was he accused of sexual abuse?
Here’s what you need to know about the James Franco sexual abuse allegations.
Franco was confronted with allegations of sexual misconduct after appearing at the 2018 Golden Globes with a “Times Up” pin, which didn’t go unnoticed by one of his accusers.
Sarah Tither-Kaplan wrote on Twitter, “Hey James Franco, nice #timesup pin at the #GoldenGlobes, remember a few weeks ago when you told me the full nudity you had me do in two of your movies for $100 / day wasn't exploitative because I signed a contract to do it? Times up on that!”
Later, four other women came forward to accuse the actor of sexual misconduct, including Hilary Dusome, who said, "I felt like I was selected for something based on my hard work and my merit, and when I realized it was because I have nice [breasts], it was pretty clear that was not the case.”
She added, “I don't think he started teaching with bad intentions, but he went down a bad path and damaged a lot of people in the process."
Although Franco’s longtime friend and former co-star, Seth Rogen, previously seemed to stand in solidarity with him, the comedian recently revealed that he’s had a change of heart.
He 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."
Franco was sued and later settled with two of the plaintiffs — Sarah Tither-Kaplan and Toni Gaal — in February of 2021. The amount that his accusers received in the settlement was not specified.
This isn’t the first time James Franco has been confronted with allegations of sexual misconduct.
The same year that James Franco launched his acting school, reports confirmed that the actor had been inappropriate with a 17-year-old fan on social media. James allegedly met the fan outside of a theater in New York and insisted on getting a room in her hotel despite learning that she was underage.
James later appeared on ABC’s Live! With Kelly and Michael, where he addressed the claims and apologized for his behavior. He explained, “I’m embarrassed, and I guess I’m just a model of how social media is tricky. I used bad judgment and I learned my lesson.”
If you need support, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 or visit RAINN.org to chat online one-on-one with a support specialist at any time.
