From fascism to Fantasia : Seth Rogen and Ted Cruz's days-long Twitter spat explained

Entertainment Weekly
·3 min read
From fascism to Fantasia : Seth Rogen and Ted Cruz's days-long Twitter spat explained
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Add Seth Rogen to the list of public figures across the aisle who have strong words for Sen. Ted Cruz.

Since Inauguration Day, the two have been engaged in an ongoing sparring match on Twitter. It started when Rogen shot back at Cruz's disapproval of President Biden's decision to rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement. In a tweet that's been criticized by many as deliberately obtuse, Cruz had said Biden's decision "indicates he's more interested in the views of the citizens of Paris than in the jobs of the citizens of Pittsburgh."

In response, the comedian wrote, "F--- off you fascist."

Thus ignited a back-and-forth that saw Rogen accusing Cruz of encouraging "a white supremacist insurrection," in reference to the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6. by those hoping to overturn the election. Politicians, entertainers, and even his hometown newspaper have accused Cruz of bearing some responsibility for the riots by repeatedly spreading debunked claims of widespread voter fraud and voting to throw out electoral votes from states that voted for Biden.

Mike Marsland/WireImage

Cruz later fired back at Rogen, attacking him as an "angry Hollywood celebrity" and implying he's against unions (which Rogen refuted), among other insults. Disney's Fantasia was even dragged into the dispute. When Cruz tweeted about seeing the movie as a kid, Rogen declared "everyone who made that film would hate you."

On Jan. 23, Cruz resorted to low blows, accusing Rogen of behaving "like a Marxist with Tourette's." In response, the Long Shot actor said that he has family members with Tourette syndrome and "has a very mild case himself." He added, "Also VERY few cases of Tourette's manifest in uncontrollable swearing. Most cases, like mine, manifest in twitching."

In some of their latest exchanges, Cruz called Rogen "a moron," prompting Rogen to reply: "Your lies got people killed. You have blood on your hands."

Rogen later said that he doesn't want their disagreement to be dismissed as a "Twitter 'feud.'"

"@tedcruz tried to overthrow our government. He inspired a deadly mob to storm the Capitol. And I think that deserves ridicule. So f--- him," he added.

Twitter users have been defending both figures, with Cruz supporters using the hashtag #SethRogenLovesTedCruz (an earlier version had misspelled Rogen's name), to rally around the senator. Meanwhile, Rogen's fellow actors, including Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Billy Eichner, have defended the comedian while also criticizing Cruz.

"Mr. Senator, as @sethrogen's non-threatening buddy, perhaps I can translate 'fascist' into more charming and civil terms," Gordon-Levitt wrote. "Your support of the former President's attempts to baselessly overturn a democratic election is reminiscent of supporters of Hitler, Mussolini, and others."

Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call

Eichner tweeted on Sunday: "@tedcruz - a Senator from our 2nd largest state, during the height of a pandemic killing 4,000+ Americans every day, weeks after he encouraged an attack on our gov't that killed 5 people, and he's spending all his time tweeting insults at an actor while his constituents die."

Last year, Cruz also found time to argue on Twitter with actor Ron Perlman about soccer players protesting against police brutality by kneeling during the national anthem.

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