For those of you who keep tabs on Kanye West, you likely caught a big piece of news that broke this past weekend: he likes Jewish people “again.” Following a stretch of time where the rapper shared numerous antisemitic sentiments (which resulted in Adidas and other brands cutting ties with him), West, a.k.a. Ye, as he’s been legally known since late 2021, posted on social media that watching Jonah Hill in 2012’s 21 Jump Street led to him changing his tune on this front. Now Seth Rogen, a fellow Jewish talent in Hollywood, has shared his thoughts on his Superbad co-star curing West of his antisemitism.
CinemaBlend’s own Jeff McCobb broached the subject while speaking with Seth Rogen about The Super Mario Bros. Movie, as Rogen voices Donkey Kong in the 2023 new movie release. When McCobb asked the actor if he was “jealous” of Jonah Hill being the actor who led Kanye West to doing a 180 on antisemitism, he immediately started laughing and then said these words in the midst of still busting a gut:
You know what? He 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!
After his viewing of 21 Jump Street, the buddy cop comedy that saw Jonah Hill starring opposite Channing Tatum, Kanye West wrote on Instagram that, “No one should take anger against one or two individuals and transform that into hatred towards millions of innocent people.” Needless to say this brought a wide variety of responses online, from some wondering if West was being serious, to other believing this might be the start of a “redemption arc" for him. I’m just waiting to see what West thinks of 22 Jump Street and if he would have liked to have seen that scrapped Jump Street/Men in Black crossover.
So Seth Rogen is ok with Kanye West changing his mind on Jewish people from watching a Jonah Hill movie rather than one of his own. Only, it turns out that Rogen does have a connection to 21 Jump Street, as he later told Jeff McCobb:
I wrote some jokes for that movie, so I feel slight ownership.
I’m sure Jonah Hill would have no issue passing along partial credit to you, Seth Rogen. After Kanye West shared the big news, 21 Jump Street co-director Christopher Miller shared his thoughts on the matter, and it was clear that like the rest of us, he was left perplexed by this revelation. Miller helmed 21 Jump Street with Phil Lord, Hill and Channing Tatum were joined onscreen by Brie Larson, Dave Franco, Roy Riggle and Ice Cube, among others.
As for Seth Rogen, along with The Super Mario Bros. Movie opening on April 5, we’ll hear him this August as Bebop in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, which he’s also producing. Rogen’s other upcoming projects include playing a yet-to-be-revealed role in Dumb Money and reprising Pumbaa in Mufasa: The Lion King. Should you wish to watch 21 Jump Street and try to discern at what point it worked its magic on Kanye West, it can be streamed with a Netflix subscription.
