Seth Rogen Gives Heartfelt Plea To Senate To Increase Alzheimer’s Funding

Seth Rogen went to Washington, but instead pushing for the legalization of marijuana the actor gave an impassioned plea for something he said was vastly more important — increasing research into Alzheimer’s disease.

The 31-year-old actor services as the Alzheimer’s Association’s celebrity spokesperson, and on Wednesday addressed a Senate committee about the difficulties his mother-in-law, Adele, faces with the disease.

Seth Rogen did work in a few jokes — after all, he was the founder of the Alzheimer’s Association’s organization Hilarity for Charity — but the message was mostly serious.

“I came here today for a few reasons. One, I’m a huge ‘House of Cards’ fan. Just marathoned the whole thing, had to be here,” Rogen said.

“Two, is to say, people need more help. I’ve personally seen the massive amount of financial strain this disease causes and if the American people ever decide to reject genitalia-driven comedy, I will no longer be able to afford it…. I can’t begin to imagine how people with more limited incomes are dealing with this…. The third reason I’m here, simply, is to show people that they are not alone, so few people share their personal stories.”

Seth Rogen also brought some sobering stats on Alzheimer’s. The disease is the most costly condition in the United States, and deaths from Alzheimer’s have increased 70 percent in the last 15 years.

Rogen said his mother-in-law was only 54 when she was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s.

“I thought it was something only really, really old people got and I thought the way the disease primarily showed itself was in the form of forgotten keys, wearing mismatched shoes and being asked the same question over and over,” he admitted.

But Rogen said the disease took a serious within a few years.

“After forgetting who she and her loved ones were,” Rogen continued, she “forgot how to speak, feed herself, dress herself and go to the bathroom herself, all by the age of 60.”

Though video of the impassioned plea has gone viral, Seth Rogen is still fighting to reach a larger audience. He called out senators who left the hearing early or dozed off, saying it was up to them to make a difference against Alzheimer’s.