Seth Rogen Says He'll Still Work with James Franco Following Allegations of Sexual Harassment
Seth Rogen is standing by his friend.
In a new interview with Vulture, Rogen spoke out about for the first time about allegations of sexually inappropriate behavior made against his close bud James Franco earlier this year.
Rogen, 36, said he has remained silent because he didn’t think his opinion mattered.
“The truth is that my perspective on this is the least relevant perspective,” he said. “I’m friends with these people and I’m a dude. All that combined makes me the last person who should be talking about this.”
When asked if he’d continue to work with Franco amid the allegations, the actor simply replied, “Yes.”
The pair are frequent collaborators, having worked together on a slew of movies including This Is the End, Pineapple Express, The Interview and Sausage Party.
Rogen was also hesitant to comment on the #MeToo movement, which has seen women speaking out about sexual harassment in the entertainment industry and beyond.
“There are so many people with real things to contribute to the #MeToo discussion that anything I say is not going to add anything useful,” he said.
In January, five women accused Franco of sexually exploitative behavior.
During an appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers, Franco, 39, addressed the allegations made by a number of women on Twitter after he wore a Time’s Up pin at the Golden Globe Awards.
“There are people that need to be heard,” the actor told Meyers. “I have my own side of this story, but I believe in these people that have been underrepresented getting their stories out enough that I will hold back things that I could say, just because I believe in it that much,” he said. “So if I have to take a knock because I’m not going to try and actively refute things, then I will, because I believe in it that much.”
In an article published in the Los Angeles Times on Jan. 11, five women accused Franco of abusing his power as an acting teacher and mentor in a sexually exploitative manner. Two students claimed the actor would often become angry on set when they would refuse to film topless, while another former acting student at the film school Franco founded said he once removed safety guards while filming an oral sex scene on the set of the 2015 film The Long Home.
Additionally, actress Violet Paley recounted her previous social media claims that Franco exposed himself and tried to pressure her into oral sex. Though she said they had a consensual relationship, Paley said, “that time wasn’t consensual.” She also alleged that he told her friend to meet him in a hotel when the friend was 17.
Franco’s attorney, Michael Plonsker, denied each of the women’s allegations and cited Franco’s comments on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert as his formal denial.
“Look, in my life I pride myself on taking responsibility for things that I have done,” Franco told Colbert. “I have to do that to maintain my well being. The things that I heard that were on Twitter are not accurate. But I completely support people coming out and being able to have a voice because they didn’t have a voice for so long. So I don’t want to shut them down in any way.”