By now you’ve probably heard Seth Rogen’s recent comments about that 2008 Katherine Heigl Vanity Fair feature. You know, the one where she made objectively reasonable and not at all accusatory statements about the great canonical work of art that is the film Knocked Up?
In case you missed it, eight years ago, Heigl said the movie was “a little sexist” and that it portrayed the women “as shrews, as humorless and uptight.” She added, “It paints the men as lovable, goofy, fun-loving guys. It exaggerated the characters, and I had a hard time with it, on some days. I’m playing such a bitch; why is she being such a killjoy? Why is this how you’re portraying women? Ninety-eight percent of the time it was an amazing experience, but it was hard for me to love the movie.”
So what exactly should Heigl say sorry for?
Rogen wishes his costar all the best. But he’s still wondering why he never got a personal apology for this slight. Rogen called her comments “batshit crazy” back in 2009. He also mockingly praised Heigl’s The Ugly Truth saying, “That [movie] looks like it really puts women on a pedestal in a beautiful way.” Judd Apatow joined in on the fun and added: “I hear there’s a scene where she’s wearing underwear with a vibrator in it, so I’d have to see if that was uplifting for women.”
Then, this year, Heigl told the not-at-all sexist Howard Stern that she regretted “shitting on” Apatow and Rogen, and refined her critique of the movie. Apparently that wasn’t good enough for Rogen, who on Stern’s show this week said this:
“I respect the fact that maybe she realizes it has hurt her career. And I don’t want that to have happened to her at all. Because I’ve said a thousand stupid things, and I really like her … The only people in this situation who should in any way take anything from it is me and Judd, because we’re the ones she’s talking about. And for other people to not work with her because she didn’t like her experience with us I think is crazy. … When I apologize to people, generally I don’t take a public forum to do it.”
So hm, let’s see, should Heigl apologize again, personally, off the air? According to the Internet at large, hell no. Anna Sillman at The Cut has already made the airtight case for why Heigl should not apologize, and she’s not alone in her opinion.
Whyyy would Katherine Heigl apologize to Seth Rogen for calling Knocked Up sexist? He didn’t write it. Also, it is. https://t.co/QxCPzbw4tB
— Halle Kiefer (@HalleKiefer) August 9, 2016
But one brave soul has stepped forward to do what’s morally right. Comedian and writer Jamie Loftus has bravely crafted a Change.org petition in the name of all that is good and humble.
Loftus writes, “It came to my attention that Seth Rogen, star of movies you went to in large groups and pretended to enjoy in high school, is sad about something. If there is one thing in this world I do not want, it is Seth Rogen sad.”
Honestly, she’s got a point.
“As a unit, we as women owe it to Seth to apologize for our historically shrewish behavior,” Loftus continues.
Fair! And if you need further clarification, Loftus really hammers the point home.
We want to tell Seth Rogen that not just Katherine Heigl is sorry, but we are all sorry for whatever we did to you to give that hot dog bun a vagina for a mouth. Whatever it was must have been horrible. Or maybe it’s just faster to write a female character without thinking about it!
Please sign this petition if you want to tell Seth Rogen that you, like Katherine Heigl should be, are very sorry for the difficult time Seth Rogen is going through as he continues to have increased access to more interesting roles with more frequency and for more money.
As of the writing of this article, the petition, while quite convincing, was still 28 signatures shy of 100. But those who have signed have done so with gusto, adding personalized apologizes to National Treasure Whose Feelings Should Never Be Hurt, Seth Rogen.
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Even a few brave men are stepping forward in solidarity.
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And there have been a couple of “celebrity” comments, too.
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Loftus told the Daily Dot, “Seth Rogen is literally touring around a feature-length dick joke, and he’s essentially dragging her for comments she made almost 10 years ago, so I’d love to poke fun at it and give women a safe space to make fun of all the reasons we should be sorry.”
She added, “I want to be the first American woman to deport Seth Rogen back to Canada.”
A noble goal, indeed.
