Busy Philipps says she won't work with James Franco again

Actress, writer and chat show host Busy Philipps has said she will not work with James Franco again, in light of allegations of sexual misconduct against the actor. The two worked together on the hugely popular Freaks and Geek's TV series, which ran from 1999-2000.

In 2018, Franco was accused by five women of sexual misconduct. The actor has categorically denied wrongdoing, but settled lawsuits in February, 2021 with two of his accusers – both of whom were former students at Studio 4, a now-defunct acting school.

Philipps' latest comments follow similar ones made by another of the Freaks and Geeks cast, and one of Franco's longtime collaborators, Seth Rogen. Rogen said in an interview with the Sunday Times that he had no plans to work with Franco again.

In The Daily Beast's 'The Last Laugh' podcast, Philipps said:“It’s interesting. They were super close and they had a very tight relationship. And so I don’t have any information. I mean, I’m going to say something now, whatever – Seth is married to a very fucking smart woman.”

In her 2018 memoir, This Will Only Hurt A Little, the actress claimed that Franco once physically assaulted her on the Freaks and Geeks set, allegedly grabbing her and screaming in her face. Although co-star Linda Cardellini advised Philipps to report the incident, she didn't, and Franco apparently apologised the next day after being forced by producers.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Philipp's said: “James and I have talked about it over the years. At one point he apologized to me. I was always acutely aware of my expendability, and so I felt I needed to never complain, always show up on time and not be difficult. If someone else was being difficult, it was my job to be the easy one or figure out a way to soothe the situation.”

Later in The Last Laugh  Philipp's said she was "surprised" by Rogen's statement, and continued on to say: “To be honest with you, I haven’t spent my days doing deep dives into what it all was. I didn’t work with James past age 20, so I can only speak to the horrible behavior I experienced.”

“I can’t speculate on their friendship," she continued, "but I wouldn’t want to work with someone who has multiple allegations of predatory behavior. So, in fact, I won’t.”

Commenting on the #MeToo movement in the film and TV industry at large, the writer and actress had this to offer:

"I think at this point, I’m not at risk. I’m an almost 42-year-old woman who wrote a book where I named names of the people who were fucking dicks to me.

“So I don’t think that I’m the person to ask about whether the industry has changed. Because I would assume that people are going to be smart enough to not fuck with me.”

Phillips added: “But also I’m not an ingenue coming onto the scene, or a young woman coming onto the scene wanting to work and make it happen. The predators, I’m sure, still exist, and a few of the big ones have been rooted out, thank god, but whether there’s a reckoning, I don’t know.”