Seth Rogen is trending because Ted Cruz is desperate for a distraction

Ted Cruz played a role in efforts to overturn the 2020 election that led to an attempted insurrection. Don't forget it.
By Adam Rosenberg  on 
Seth Rogen is trending because Ted Cruz is desperate for a distraction
Mandatory Credit: Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP/Shutterstock (10470001j) Seth Rogen arrives at the 33rd American Cinematheque Award honoring Charlize Theron at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, in Beverly Hills, Calif 33rd American Cinematheque Award Honoring Charlize Theron - Arrivals, Beverly Hills, USA - 08 Nov 2019 Credit: Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP/Shutterstock

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.

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Credit: 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.

It wasn't long before Rogen also leaned into setting his followers straight on what's actually happening here.

Related Video: How to Stay Politically Involved in a Post-Trump World

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Adam Rosenberg

Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.


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