What could happen when a comedic actor known for being outspoken on politics presents an award at a science event attended by some of Silicon Valley’s major players with connections to the Trump administration?
That depends.
Organizers of the 2025 Breakthrough Prize ceremony, sometimes called the “Oscars of Science,” cut Seth Rogen’s jokes about President Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the secretary of Health and Human Services, from the broadcast it posted on YouTube.
Nearly 90 minutes into the event, which was attended by Jeff Bezos and the founding sponsors Mark Zuckerberg and Sergey Brin, Rogen and Edward Norton took the stage. But before giving out a prize to the Dutch theoretical physicist Gerard ’t Hooft, Rogen chose to make a few remarks.
“It’s amazing that others in this room underwrote electing a man who, in the last week, single-handedly destroyed all of American science,” Mr. Rogen said, according to The Hollywood Reporter, which was a media sponsor of the April 5 event. “It’s amazing how much good science you can destroy with $320 million and R.F.K. Jr. very fast.”
It is unclear what Mr. Rogen was referring to with the $320 million. But the Trump administration has gutted or frozen billions of dollars in federal grants made to researchers through the National Institutes of Health, and has moved to curb funding for academic medical centers and other institutions. It has also, through the Department of Government Efficiency led by Elon Musk, tried to fire hundreds of workers at the National Science Foundation, a federal agency. Officials have also recommended the elimination of the scientific research division at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The edited version of Mr. Rogen’s remarks on YouTube skip the jokes and start with an explanation of Mr. ’t Hooft’s childhood and his contributions to science.
Mr. Rogen could not be immediately reached for comment on Wednesday, but a statement the Breakthrough Prize gave to The Hollywood Reporter said the cuts to the YouTube broadcast were made because of time constraints.
“This year’s ceremony lasted longer than the prior few years, and several edits were made in order to meet the originally planned run time,” the statement said. It was unclear whether anything else was trimmed from the video.
This year’s Breakthrough Prize event honored scientists who drove discoveries in gene editing, human diseases and, in Mr. ’t Hooft’s case, the fundamental particles of the universe. More than $18 million in prizes were awarded.
Derrick Bryson Taylor is a Times reporter covering breaking news in culture and the arts.
The post Seth Rogen’s Trump Jokes Are Edited Out of Awards Broadcast appeared first on New York Times.
