Seth Rogen and Lauren Miller Rogen Recall Snoop Dogg Auctioning Off a Blunt for $10,000
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Seth Rogen and Lauren Miller Rogen were in Washington, D.C., earlier this month to meet with politicians to talk about their nonprofit Hilarity for Charity, and the need for more funding for brain research and home-based care.
“We just want to really make sure that moving forward, there is some sort of plan to address the great need that this country has in terms of care,” Miller Rogen says.
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Rogen adds, “Washington is in a strange place right now, but it’s always encouraging to see that there are people working in the government that actually have this as a priority. As many as there aren’t, there are many who are so it’s somewhat encouraging.”
I caught up with the couple ahead of the 10th anniversary of Hilarity for Charity, the event and organization of the same name that were inspired by Miller Rogen’s late mother’s battle with Alzheimer’s. The two will host a night of comedy and performances — John Mayer and Nicole Byers are on the bill — on Oct. 1 at Rolling Greens in downtown Los Angeles.
When you’re in Washington, do you feel like you’re being heard?
Miller Rogen: I think that we were lucky that we met with people who didn’t need convincing that it’s an important issue. I think if we go back again, we would try to meet with the people who have voted in ways in which they have not prioritized care to try to change their minds.
How do you convince them to prioritize funding for care services when there are so many others trying to get funding for so many other issues?
Miller Rogen: Because care is an issue that affects everyone at all different times in their lives. We’re not just talking about dementia caregivers, of which there are millions and millions upon millions of unpaid dementia caregivers, but more than that, there are people providing care of all kind, and that’s from parents to siblings to spouses and children. The government needs to find a way to match what most countries do to support those people in the form of paid time leave. The infrastructure for care workers also needs attention. The federal government really needs to be stepping up because the need is so great and it truly affects everyone.
Seth, which of your movies is the one politicians brings up the most when they meet you?
Rogen: Some of them did have to deal with the fallout from “The Interview” a little bit. [Laughs] I’ve had a few bring that one up.
Take me back 10 years ago to the first Hilarity for Charity. What do you remember most?
Rogen: Honestly, I don’t think the word Alzheimer’s was even said.
Miller Rogen: Backstage right before it was ending I said to Seth, “You have to say Alzheimer’s!”
Rogen: Everyone was sort of so uncomfortable with it. We didn’t really know how to reconcile kind of doing a comedy show and talking about this very heavy at times and very sad subject matter. But the show was great. And it was fun. I think our messaging and our ability to integrate actually talking about our cause and actually talking about the disease has definitely grown exponentially over the years. And thank God because it’d be weird if our charity never talked about the thing that we were doing.
Is there one performance or moment through the years that you think really captures what Hilarity for Charity is all about?
Rogen: Snoop Dogg once auctioned off a blunt on stage for Alzheimer’s.
Miller Rogen: I think it went for $10,000.
Rogen: I think that encapsulates how we are approaching the space differently. If you’re lucky enough to be able to get Snoop Dogg to come perform at your show and auction off a blunt for Alzheimer’s care and research, then I think that speaks very well to an unexpected but effective kind of melding of matters and sensibilities.
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