Seth Rogen’s Criticism of Silicon Valley’s Support for Trump Was Cut From the “Full” Stream of Breakthrough Prize

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The organizers of the 2025 Breakthrough Prize event, often referred to as the science world’s equivalent of the Oscars, might have reconsidered their decision when they chose Seth Rogen, known for his uncensored humor, to present an award. This seemed evident when they edited out parts of his speech from the YouTube broadcast a week later. Throughout his career, Rogen has a reputation for breaking the rules at awards shows – as seen in his criticism of the COVID safety protocols at the 2021 Emmys or his bleeped joke about Ryan Gosling at this year’s Golden Globes. He continued this trend during his co-presentation with Edward Norton at the Barker Hanger in Santa Monica on April 5, for the thirteenth edition of the ceremony.

Following an introduction by host James Corden, Norton commenced his speech by acknowledging and complimenting the tech giants in attendance – specifically Yuri Milner, Mark Zuckerberg, and Sergey Brin who funded the prizes (each recipient receives $3 million) – for their generous support. However, under the influence of a strong martini, Rogen interjected with a not-so-subtle jibe at Elon Musk, who was once a guest here and is now known as the Dogecoin mastermind. “It’s incredible that those in this room have funded the election of a man who, in just a week, has managed to demolish all of American science,” Rogen quipped, causing Norton to squirm. This remark highlighted the irony of Silicon Valley’s growing friendship with the Trump administration, which has reduced federal funding for science and disregarded scientific consensus. “You can wreak havoc on a lot of good science with $320 million and RFK Jr, in no time,” Rogen added.

In a live event, an off-the-cuff remark by the host landed with a mild applause or “light cheers,” making Norton appear visibly uncomfortable as he joked. Rogen responded by saying it was more like a “scattered clapping.” However, viewers watching the YouTube video a week later wouldn’t have understood Rogen’s subtle critique because the video was edited subtly to make it seem that the “light applause” comment referred to Norton’s entrance with Rogen. The edited version also omitted a casual joke made by Rogen regarding the work of physics prize winner Gerardus ‘t Hooft from the University of Utrecht, where he humorously described the concept of symmetry using a wheel example and joked that the audience would “roll right,” according to an eyewitness. The edited version skipped over this joke and went straight to Norton’s response about maintaining symmetry.

When asked about why certain possibly awkward remarks by Rogen were cut, a representative from the Breakthrough Prize Foundation explained that this year’s event ran longer than previous ones, so modifications were made to fit the initially scheduled duration. Unfortunately, Rogen was unavailable for comment.

(The Hollywood Reporter is the media sponsor of the Breakthrough Prize Ceremony.)

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2025-04-15 23:57