Seth Rogen is refusing to abandon his friend and frequent collaborator James Franco after he was hit with a string of sexual misconduct allegations.
The 127 Hours star hit headlines in January after he was accused of inappropriate behaviour and abuse of power by five women in an article in the Los Angeles Times.
Franco vehemently denied the accusations, but the controversy is speculated to have cost him a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his movie The Disaster Artist, which had been hotly-tipped for gold throughout awards season.
He has been laying low ever since, and although Rogen is trying to avoid weighing in on the scandal, he has no plans to cut ties with the embattled actor.
“The truth is that my perspective on this is the least relevant perspective,” the Knocked Up funnyman explained to Vulture.com of his silence on the allegations. “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.”
However, when asked if he would continue working with Franco, his co-star in films like This Is the End, The Interview, and Pineapple Express, Rogen simply responded, “Yes.”
The comedian is also hesitant to share his thoughts on the #MeToo anti-sexual harassment movement, because Rogen insists the spotlight should be focused on those directly affected by inappropriate behavior.
“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 reasoned.
Franco previously addressed the sexual misconduct accusations during an interview on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, insisting they were “not accurate”, although he praised those victims who are brave enough to come forward with such allegations against their abusers.
“I completely support people coming out and being able to have a voice because they didn’t have a voice for so long,” he said. “So I don’t want to shut them down in any way. It’s, I think, a good thing, and I support it.”
