Alzheimer's advocate Seth Rogen shames politicians

Comic actor Seth Rogen is not as goofy or mild mannered as his roles in such films as Knocked Up suggest. An advocate for Alzheimer's Disease, Rogen recently named and shamed 16 U.S. Senators for failing to stay and hear him out during a recent speech before Congress in which he asked the federal government to increase care and support funding for sufferers of the disease.

The star made known his displeasure with the senators' seeming lack of interest in the plight of sufferers and their families last Wednesday after his speech on the MSNBC show Hardball. Rogen was unequivocal in his view of lack of attendance during his speech, which asked for legislation for aid, reports The Independent.

"It's indicative of a mentality that we find so frustrating. It seems like these people don't care," he said to Hardball host Chris Matthews.

Later, he took to Twitter. He posted a photograph of how few Senators were present to hear him make his plea (the photo shows only two Senators present). And when Senator Mark Kirk re-Tweeted a post about his speech later, Rogen tweeted him back asking: "Pleasure meeting you. Why did you leave before my speech? Just curious."

The actor is so passionate because he has been personally touched by the disease and understands how much help is needed. He told the committee that his mother-in-law, Adele Miller, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's at the age of 55. Five years later, she had been reduced considerably both in body and mind.

"After forgetting who she and her loved ones were, she forgot how to speak, feed herself, dress herself, all by age of 60," Rogen told those assembled.

Rogen lightened the mood slightly by relating how his mother-in-law's situation affected him positively, however.

"The situation is so dire, that it caused me, a lazy, self-involved, generally self-medicated man-child, to start an entire charity organization," he said, discussing the origins of his Hilarity for Charity.

Rogen's speech, which was peppered with signature inappropriate jokes and asides — at one point he jokes that he's not there to talk about legalizing marijuana — can be viewed in full below. For more on his charity, see hilarityforcharity.org.