Eyes on the ball, folks.
There’s general agreement at this point among people who aren’t actively lying to the American public about the 2020 election that Ted Cruz bears some responsibility for the violent invasion of the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters on Jan. 6. So it’s not really a leap to view Cruz’s sudden interest in beefing with Seth Rogen on Twitter as a limp attempt to get people thinking about something else.
The Hollywood star rocketed to the top of Twitter trends on Sunday morning after a days-long back-and-forth with Cruz. The antagonistic tweeting escalated after a late Saturday comment from the Senator that described Rogen as “a Marxist with Tourette’s,” referencing a neurological disorder that manifests with physical and verbal tics.
Image: screenshot: Seth Rogen’s Twitter account
Rogen swiftly took exception to Cruz’s comment. “As someone who has Tourette’s in their family (and also has a very mild case himself), I once again take great pleasure in telling you to go fuck yourself,” he tweeted in response, adding that the “uncontrollable swearing” Cruz ascribed to Tourette’s actually manifests in “VERY few cases.” (Rogen himself deals with “twitching,” as he described it.)
While Rogen clearly had his reasons for taking Cruz’s attempted insult personally, observers on in and out of Hollywood were quick to note that the Senator’s sudden interest in nurturing a Twitter beef. Cruz and his fellow Senator, Missouri’s Josh Hawley, are facing calls from across the political spectrum to resign or face stiff consequences (including ejection from the Senate) for their efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
While it’s not clear if or when those repercussions will happen, Cruz seems to recognize that time and distance from Jan. 6 makes it easier for him to dodge responsibility. So as Rogen’s name started trending Sunday, tweeting around the whole back-and-forth took a sharp turn toward reminding everyone watching to not lose sight of Cruz’s bigger troubles.
Ted Cruz doing clumsy Trump cosplay is so embarrassing. Sweetie, you don’t have *it*. You are simply NOT a star! Sorry!
— billy eichner (@billyeichner) January 22, 2021
What’s funny about the latest round of Seth Rogen / Ted Cruz arguing is that Rogen called him a “fascist piece of shit” late at night last night and Cruz replied like within 20 min, much faster response than two weeks ago when the protests at the Capitol flared up into violence
— Jesse Hawken (@jessehawken) January 24, 2021
While pondering the Ted Cruz vs Seth Rogen battle it is good to remember that one of these men gave us Freaks & Geeks, Knocked Up, and Pineapple Express, while the other tried to incite a takeover of the US Capitol that resulted in the death of a cop.
— Jeremy Newberger (@jeremynewberger) January 24, 2021
Hi, @tedcruz is desperate to pick a fight with @Sethrogen so everyone talks about that and not the fact that he made a bad-faith attempt to overthrow a fair election in order to cynically grab Trump’s base and run for President in 2024. Let’s focus on the latter.
— Ken Tremendous (@KenTremendous) January 24, 2021
Is this how far you’ve fallen, @Sethrogen? Resorting to potty mouth when addressing @tedcruz, a man who urged an attack on our government that led to five deaths including a policeman? Why do you need to cuss? https://t.co/6mFqnQ5Cqb
— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) January 24, 2021
It wasn’t long before Rogen also leaned into setting his followers straight on what’s actually happening here.
This isn’t 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 fuck him.
— Seth Rogen (@Sethrogen) January 24, 2021