Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
The Schmooze

Seth Rogen calls Ted Cruz a fascist — and something much worse

Say what you will about Ted Cruz, he is a senator uniquely enamored of — and despised by — Hollywood.

The guy quotes entire scenes from “The Princess Bride” to the discomfort of all around him, and to the chagrin of its star, Mandy Patinkin. Former Senator Al Franken said the two got along OK in Congress because Cruz was a comedy fan — but also made much hay out of calling him a “dunderhead” and worse. “Chernobyl” screenwriter Craig Mazin, Cruz’s freshman year roommate, has been known to take regular potshotsat his undergrad behavior and conduct as a lawmaker. Ron Perlman recently challenged Cruz to a wrestling match.

So it comes as no great surprise that Cruz is once again feuding with a film star. This time it’s Seth Rogen, who took a break from firing his elaborate ceramics to fire the first shot at the Texas lawmaker.

After Cruz tweeted a statement slamming President Joe Biden’s choice to rejoin the Paris Climate Accord, Rogen replied by saying, “F— off you fascist.”

Cruz took the bait, screenshotting the reply and using it to tar Rogen as an elitist.

“Charming, civil, educated response. ⁦@Sethrogen⁩,” Cruz tweeted. “If you’re a rich, angry Hollywood celebrity, today’s Dems are the party for you. If you’re blue-collar, if you’re a union member, if you work in energy or manufacturing…not so much.”

Rogen was unruffled by the charge, replying back, “Haha get f—-ed fascist. Go encourage a white supremacist insurrection again you f—ing clown.”

While on the surface this seems like a sophomoric evasion, it is in fact an incisive and gutting comeback that hits at Cruz’s deepest insecurity. Imitating Billy Crystal’s Miracle Max and wanting to buddy up to SNL alum Franken, Cruz seems, on some profound level, to want to be part of the Hollywood in-crowd. More than that — as this awful queso clipcan attest — he wants to be seen as funny and likable.

Rogen, by laughing at him and calling him a clown, is making Cruz the object of fun. That, more than the charge of fascist inclinations evidenced by his trying to stall the electoral certification, is what must really hurt.

Cruz can laugh away the “fascist” attack, but not the funny one.

PJ Grisar is the Forward’s culture reporter. He can be reached at [email protected].

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.