Seth Rogen’s comments about President Donald Trump’s policies on science were removed from the official video coverage of the 2025 Breakthrough Prize ceremony, often referred to as the “Oscars of science.” The incident occurred after fellow presenter Edward Norton praised tech leaders in attendance, including Breakthrough Prize co-founders Yuri Milner, Mark Zuckerberg, and Sergey Brin. Rogen then made a remark about Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, who was also present.
Rogen criticized Musk for his support of Trump, saying, “And it’s amazing that others in this room helped elect a man who, in the last week, single-handedly destroyed all of American science.” The comment was a direct response to Musk’s backing of Trump, whose administration had slashed federal science funding and appointed vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
Rogen continued, “It’s amazing how much good science you can destroy with $320 million and RFK Jr., very fast.” However, the response from the audience was tepid, with Norton noting that it received only “light applause.” Rogen humorously added, “I’d say that’s a smattering.”
Though Rogen continued to joke, the official video posted a week later on YouTube showed no signs of his controversial remarks. The footage was edited to make it appear that Norton’s “light applause” comment referred to their stage entrance, rather than Rogen’s remarks. Additionally, a joke Rogen made about physics prize winner Gerardus ‘t Hooft was also cut from the video. Rogen had joked that a wheel, used to illustrate symmetry, could roll either left or right, but suggested the crowd would “roll right.” The edited video skipped this punchline, cutting straight to Norton’s reply: “But that would break the symmetry.”
When asked why these parts of Rogen’s comments were omitted, a spokesperson for the Breakthrough Prize Foundation explained, “This year’s ceremony lasted longer than previous years, and several edits were made to meet the originally planned run time.”
