Seth Rogen: James Franco Is ‘Back at Work’ After Sexual Misconduct Claims, Which Is a ‘Sign Things Seem to be OK For Him’
Zack Sharf
James Franco has been filming the second season of his HBO drama series “The Deuce,” which his friend and collaborator Seth Rogen says is a “sign that thing seem to be OK” for Franco following multiple accusations of sexual harassment earlier this year. Franco has remained out of the spotlight since five women accused him of sexually exploitative behavior in a January 2018 report published in the Los Angeles Times.
Rogen was asked during a recent interview with Rolling Stone if he thought the media was fair to Franco in the wake of the accusations, but Rogen said he wasn’t sure of the answer since he wasn’t paying attention. The actor said he didn’t have a full perspective on how the media reacted, but he speculated that Franco is in a better place now that he’s working again.
“I honestly don’t know because I wasn’t ingesting that much media at that time,” Rogen said. “I know he’s back at work, so that’s, I think, good for him and a sign that things seem to be OK for him. But the truth is, I honestly don’t know what was happening at the time I was checking out a little bit. I don’t have a full perspective on what their take was.”
Rogen mostly avoided the media’s coverage of the Franco allegations, just as he avoided commenting publicly about them. The actor told Vulture in April the reason he was staying quiet on the allegations against his friend was because he knew he was “the last person who should be talking about” the story.
“The truth is that my perspective on this is the least relevant perspective,” Rogen 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…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.”
In addition to “The Deuce” Season 2, Franco is rumored to be playing a supporting role in the Coen brothers’ upcoming anthology project “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.” Prior to new episodes of “The Deuce” being filmed, showrunner David Simon said he never received complaints about Franco’s behavior on set during production on Season 1.
Head over to Rolling Stone to read Rogen’s latest interview in its entirety.
