Busy Philipps talks being shielded from "insidious" criticism on Freaks and Geeks and the dissolution of Seth Rogen and James Franco's friendship

The Daily Beast

Philipps was 19 when she landed the role of Kim Kelly on Freaks and Geeks in 1999, the same year her fictional Girls5eva group's song “Famous 5eva” hit the top of the charts. Philipps recalled creator Paul Feig and executive producer Judd Apatow shielding her and Linda Cardellini from negative comments about their looks. In fact, Philipps didn't realize how shielded she was until she landed on Dawson's Creek. "I mean, when I got on Dawson’s Creek, there was this whole discussion about the moles on my neck and my face," she says. "And they tried to cover them with makeup. It was a directive from the network. I guess they found them offensive. My skin offended them. But it was so wild to me. So that messaging wasn’t really coming from within the house on Freaks and Geeks necessarily, but it certainly was always just there and it was understood by anyone who was paying attention." Philipps also discussed the sexual misconduct allegations against Franco coming one year after she revealed in her memoir that he physically assaulted her on the Freaks and Geeks set, apologizing years later. Recently, Rogen said he stopped working with Franco. "I have to say, I mean, it’s interesting," she said. "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 f*cking smart woman." She added: "I guess I was surprised. Although, 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."