Seth Rogen carefully avoided any mention of his former friend and collaborator James Franco while looking back on his Freaks and Geeks days on this morning’s episode of The Drew Barrymore Show.
There to promote his new comedy series The Studio, Rogen spoke about the long-lasting friendships that stemmed from his breakout role in Judd Apatow‘s Freaks and Geeks — none of which included Franco.
“I feel great and so lucky that I work with so many people I’ve known for so long,” he said. “A lot of the people on that show I’ve known for a very long time.”
He added, “David Krumholtz is on the show, I’ve known since I was 16. He was in an episode of Freaks and Geeks. A lot of people in this show I’ve known a really long time. I was at Martin Starr’s wedding a couple of years ago. He’s the best.”
Rogen also gushed over his long-lasting friendships with Steven Spielberg, who produced Freaks and Geeks, and Paul Rudd. The two actors starred together in iconic comedies like Knocked Up and The 40-Year-Old Virgin.
Moreover, he gave his flowers to Frida Perez, who began her career as his assistant and worked her way up to being a writer before she became a co-creator on The Studio.
However, there was noticeably no mention of Franco, who frequently collaborated with Rogen after they met on the set of Freaks and Geeks. Since their time playing high school students in the 1999 one-season wonder, they have worked together on films like Pineapple Express (2008), This Is the End (2013), The Interview (2014), Sausage Party (2016), and The Disaster Artist (2017).
Their once-close friendship infamously came to a halt after Franco was accused of sexual misconduct by several students at his former acting school in 2018. The actor denied the accusations, which later resulted in a lawsuit that was settled in 2021, per Variety.
That same year, Rogen told The Jess Cagle Show that the allegations “changed many things” in their “relationship” and “dynamic.”
“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 said at the time, before adding, “I also 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.”
Franco told Variety in an October 2024 interview that he is no longer in touch with Rogen.
“I haven’t talked to Seth,” he said. “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.”
The Drew Barrymore Show airs on weekdays on CBS. You can check the website for local airtimes.
If you or someone you know needs to reach out about sexual abuse or assault, RAINN is available 24/7 at 800-656-HOPE (4673), or online at RAINN.org.
