Seth Rogan Is in Denial about Cowardly Comedy
But "non-existent" Cancel Culture helped make his nightmare come true
When I cracked open the Esquire interview with actor, funnyman, and filmmaker Seth Rogan, I kind of knew what I was getting into—Eight Percenters pontificating about the world from inside the protective confines of a reality-repelling bubble.
But once I read how the writer chose to open the discussion about Cancel Culture, I realized just how thick that bubble wall was:
We're living in a time when people like to say they’re not allowed to say anything anymore—just after they’ve said the thing they said they weren’t allowed to say, often into a microphone.
Zing! If I had a nickel, or even a discontinued penny, for each time I heard that one.
Yes, it’s true that canceled entertainers might choose to discuss their run-ins with the mob. But when they tell their stories, they speak into microphones with significantly less reach than before their ordeals.
They haven’t been stripped of the ability to speak with others. They’ve been stripped of opportunities—the best gigs, the biggest checks, and the most coveted statuettes.
So after I adjusted my low expectations downward, Rogan’s opening salvo was unsurprising:
“The complaint that comedy’s harder than it used to be is not a valid complaint,” he says. “Maybe it was too easy before. And why should it be? Why shouldn’t it be hard? I like that my job is hard, because I’m trying to do something that requires a huge amount of resources and people’s time and energy.”
What can be done to reach people who enjoy the comfy confines of their bubbles?
We can’t force Seth Rogan to listen to Bill Maher, Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle, Ricky Gervais, Whitney Cummings, or other comedians and creators who have spoken out about the timid and conformist state of comedy. We can’t force Rogan to listen to the overlooked casualties, including aspiring comedians such as my friends Chris Lee, Surbhi, and the Latino comedic actor I could only reference anonymously.
Another famously funny Seth—Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane—is a fan of my 2016 documentary Can We Take a Joke?, the first mainstream film to tackle Cancel Culture. In it, comedians such as Gilbert Gottfried, Karith Foster, and Penn Jillette explain how a biting cultural chill can undermine comedy and progress.
Viewers also hear from up-and-coming comedians. For instance, the previously mentioned Chris Lee reveals how university administrators use behind-the-scenes censorship to shape the next generation of jokesters.
But we can’t force Rogan to pay attention to MacFarlane or watch Can We Take a Joke? We can’t force him to subscribe to Shiny Herd or read The Cancelling of the American Mind.
That means he will continue to deliver observations such as:
The line between what is acceptable and what is not is constantly moving, he argues, and that’s always been the case. “What do you wish you could say?” he says. “What do you feel has been taken from you?
Is he serious?
When the Status Quo Looks Just Fine
For Eight Percenters who agree with the monoculture worldview, Cancel Culture may indeed seem like a non-issue.
If you’re only interested in agreeing with “The Man,” then I suppose nothing “has been taken from you.” Rogan is a proud lefty, and Eight Percenters draw from that pool. But most lefties aren’t Eight Percenters. Many of the comedians mentioned above are lefties, yet they don’t suffer from Rogan’s myopia.
I bet even Rogan could name some of what has been taken from comedians.
I bet even a monoculture man like himself has avoided pursuing forbidden ideas for movies or scenes. But if Rogan really has no idea of what has been taken from comedians, I’ll provide a small sample: Frank and open exploration of many topics including race, racism, “diversity,” sex, Islam, gender, transgenderism, immigration, climate change, guns, and policing. Comedians know they should avoid such issues or take great care to affirm the “correct” point of view if they do address them.
Some of Rogan’s comments verge on self owns: “It’s always funny when people are like: Oh, they could never make the ‘Diversity Day’ episode of The Office today. You can still watch it.”
It’s great that people can still watch that episode, but The Office became a huge hit before the world went mad. It’s not terribly surprising when an offering from an established cultural juggernaut slips past the thought policers. In fact, Rogan’s example supports one of my “South Park Rules” — if you want to avoid Cancel Culture, get famous before 2013.
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The Hidden Side of Groupthink
The new rules of comedy hurt aspiring comedians the most. They’re the ones who lacked the foresight to get famous before 2013. They witness the blowback titans like Chappelle receive for stepping out of line and opt to keep their problematic routines on their notepads. The message is clear — If the mob will attack a big shot like Chappelle so ferociously, little shots better think twice before opening their mouths.
And that’s why it would have been nice if Rogan had attempted to answer the question that he cited: Could the “Diversity Day” episode be made today?
Rogan doesn’t even interact with the meat of the point he’s supposedly debunking. These days cultural gatekeepers routinely suppress problematic fare before it ever reaches viewers. And that top-down control fuels a vicious cycle in which cultural censorship continues mainly through bottom-up self censorship.
In a sane world, comedians would have welcomed the madness of the past decade as manna from heaven. Yet our cowardly entertainment industry largely ignored juicy topics such as campus crybullies and Biden’s cognitive decline in order to workshop yet another anti-Trump bit.
Don’t get me wrong, Trump deserves to be mocked. But sweet jeebus, let’s cycle in some of those long-ignored topics.
If he chooses to escape his bubble, Rogan might grapple with the great irony that the conformity his tribe enforced played a role in the reelection of Donald Trump.
Yes, Eight Percenters’ herd thinking helped pull their greatest nightmare back into the White House. Oh well, at least they’ll enjoy four more years of writing more “Orange Man Bad” material.
I can already hear the clapter.
Ted Balaker is a filmmaker, and former network newser and think tanker. His written work has appeared in many publications including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Reason, and The Washington Post.
His recent film work includes Little Pink House starring Catherine Keener and Jeanne Tripplehorn, Can We Take a Joke? featuring Gilbert Gottfried and Penn Jillette, and the new feature documentary based on the bestselling book, The Coddling of the American Mind, by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt. Stream the very first “Substack Presents” feature documentary here on Substack or on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ted and his wife and producing partner Courtney Moorehead Balaker are now making a narrative feature film based on Rob Henderson’s bestselling book Troubled: A Memoir of Foster Care, Family, and Social Class.
Love it. Although one would do well to remember that Whitney Cummings threw Chris D’Elia under the bus when he got cancelled for god-knows-who-can-remember reason 5 years ago.
Question for you, Ted: Could the “Diversity Day” episode be made today? A year ago, no way. But what about after Jan 20, 2025? Do you think comedy will return to fearlessly breaking taboos, including against the "protected classes"?