Seth Rogen and James Franco’s feud takes unexpected turn 4 years after fallout
Seth Rogen's feud with his former collaborator comes as his new series on Apple TV Plus airs.
Seth Rogen and James Franco’s feud has taken an unexpected turn after the pair revealed their friendship was ‘over’.
Today marks the global release day of Seth’s new Apple TV Plus show The Studio, which has earned universal acclaim from critics.
The 10-part series centres on Hollywood studio executive Matt (Seth) as he juggles corporate demands with creative ambitions to try and keep movies alive and relevant.
The Studio also stars the likes of Catherine O’Hara and features cameos from A-listers including Martin Scorsese, Charlize Theron and Olivia Wilde.
However, perhaps unexpectedly, the show also features Dave Franco, the brother of James Franco. In 2021, the Spider-Man actor agreed to pay $2.2m (£1.7m) to settle a legal case after being accused of sexual misconduct.
The 127 Hours star’s lawyers previously described the allegations as ‘false and inflammatory’ and he previously denied the claims. But following the news, Seth came out and said he ‘despises abuse’.
Critics have been raving over the comic actor’s new show (Picture: Apple TV Plus)He also added that he will not be working with his longtime collaborator moving forward.
Yet, Seth’s newest show The Studio features Dave working alongside him for the first time since the allegations against his brother surfaced.
Reacting on X, @nocontextvp said: ‘Dave Franco being here but not his brother is frying me so bad.’
But while many people might be surprised to see the pair working together, given the potential awkwardness due to Seth ending his friendship with James, The Studio co-creator Evan Goldberg set the record straight.
Speaking to LADbible, Goldberg said: ‘No, no, we’ve been working with Davey [Franco] for a long, long time, ever since Neighbours, and we’ve known him… He was in Superbad back then, so we’ve known him forever.
‘He was just the person that came up in our minds for this Ron Howard film that is a film within our [series] for Alphabet City.
‘Yeah, it was just – he was the natural, selected choice.’
Seth’s working relationship with James and Dave Franco goes back years (Picture: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)James recently reflected on the breakdown of his friendship with Seth, who he has starred with in Pineapple Express, The Interview and The Disaster Artist.
In an interview with Variety, he said: ‘I haven’t talked to Seth. I love Seth, we had 20 great years together, but I guess it’s over. And not for lack of trying. I’ve told him how much he’s meant to me.’
Having previously said in 2018 he would work with James again, Seth told Sunday Times’ Culture Magazine in 2021: ‘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.’
He added: ‘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 do it right now.’
Explaining that his decision was ‘not a coincidence’, Seth stated: ‘I can say it, um, you know, it has changed many things in our relationship and our dynamic.’
In 2021, James admitted to sleeping with students at his acting school, saying: ‘I was not clearheaded.’
Speaking on The Jess Cagle Podcast, James stressed that he had not started the school to lure women for sexual purposes.
Evan Goldberg pictured alongside Seth and James at the Golden Globes (Picture: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)‘I suppose at the time, my thinking was if it’s consensual, OK,’ he continued. ‘At the time I was not clearheaded.’
The actor added he had kept quiet for such a long period because ‘there were people that were upset with me and I needed to listen’.
He agreed to pay $2.2m (£1.6m) in July after being sued for engaging in ‘sexually-charged behaviour towards female students’.
The class-action lawsuit, led by Sarah Tither-Kaplan and Toni Gaal, alleged he abused his position and dangled opportunities for roles in his films.
Students claimed they were victims of fraud for paying for the acting school while being sexually objectified and intimidated.
The lawsuit alleged that abuses took place at Franco’s Studio 4 film school, which opened in 2014 and closed in 2017.
Tither-Kaplan had previously come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct against James, shortly after he won a Golden Globe for his film The Disaster Artist in 2018.
He denied them at the time.
The Studio will premiere on Apple TV+ with the first two episodes on 26 March followed by one episode every Wednesday until 21 May.
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