Kanye West recently credited Jonah Hill’s role in 21 Jump Street for making him “like Jewish people again,” but Seth Rogen feels “slight ownership” for his change in heart.
During an interview with CinemaBlend to promote his new film The Super Mario Bros. Movie, the Canadian actor was asked if he’s jealous of his friend and collaborator “curing” Kanye’s antisemitism.
AD LOADING...
Rogen burst into laughter and shared his reaction to Ye’s comments, before revealing he actually wrote some of the jokes in 21 Jump Street.
“You know what? [Jonah Hill] can have it. Happy to be left out of that one. But you know what? Good! Cured! They should send that movie around the world, let everyone watch it!” he said with a hint of sarcasm.
He added: “I wrote some jokes for that movie, so I feel slight ownership.”
Kanye West, who became a lightning rod for controversy last year after making antisemitic comments in several interviews and social media posts, saluted Jonah Hill and 21 Jump Street in an Instagram post last Friday (March 24).
“Watching Jonah Hill in 21 Jump Street made me like Jewish people again,” he wrote. “No one should take anger against one or two individuals and transform that into hatred towards millions of innocent people.”
AD LOADING...
He added: “No Christian can be labeled antisemite knowing Jesus is Jew. Thank you Jonah Hill I love you.”
A longtime fan of Kanye West, Seth Rogen once revealed Ye rapped the entirety of his 2013 album Yeezus to him after crossing paths at a hotel in New York.
AD LOADING...
“Me and my wife had gotten some dessert and were in the lobby getting plates to bring back to our room,” he told Rolling Stone in 2014. “And Kanye was like, ‘What are you guys doing? Want to hear my new album?’
“So he takes us to this limo van and starts playing his album – except there’s no lyrics, only beats. So he raps the whole album and after each song, he stops it, like, ‘So what do you think?’ We were in the van for 2 hours!
AD LOADING...
“Now I realize the next person he sees that he knows is getting pulled into that van. But I learned a lesson from it – which is that Kanye is seeking input at all times. Process-wise, it showed an openness and a fearlessness.
“We started screening our movies more and in rougher versions for our friends because of that.”
Seth Rogen even made a parody version of Kanye’s “Bound 2” video alongside James Franco while they filmed The Interview.
More recently, Rogen shared his thoughts on Ye’s Donda album during an appearance on Pharrell’sOTHERtone podcast in 2021.
AD LOADING...
“I did love Kanye’s new album,” he said. “To me, Kanye is just such a unique artist and to me, I think what he does is really interesting. I think the fact that it’s such a distinct sound. You can just turn on any song for half a second and kind of know it’s a Kanye song.
“I think it’s auteur-ish as I think a lot of performers are, and that’s just something I think is really interesting, that he can carve out a sound that is so unique.”
AD LOADING...
He continued: “I think that is an interesting journey that I keep getting taken on is that I can look there and be like, ‘What the is this guy talking about? How much stupid stuff can come out of someone’s mouth?’
“And then be like, ‘I love this album. It’s incredible. I’m going to listen to it for two weeks straight and not stop.’ I’m fascinated by that as well, and I like that in a lot of ways.”
