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Stay home and 'smoke weed': Seth Rogen answers B.C.'s call for pandemic wisdom

'Please do not go out to parties and BBQs and other large gatherings! The COVID is still out there!' wrote the Vancouver-raised comedian, writer, actor, producer, and director in a Tweet.
Stefan Labbé
Seth Rogen at the Collision Conference in Toronto
Seth Rogen at the Collision Conference in TorontoStephen McCarthy/Collision via Sportsfile

Comedian Seth Rogen has a message to British Columbians weighing whether to partake in summer festivities: Stay home and smoke weed.

In a

People of British Columbia! Please do not go out to parties and BBQs and other large gatherings! The COVID is still out there! It’s more fun to hang out alone and smoke weed and watch movies and TV shows anyway! Do that instead! Thank you!

— Seth Rogen (@Sethrogen) August 15, 2020 " target="_blank">Tweet sent out around noon Saturday, Aug. 15, the Vancouver funnyman answered premier John Horgan’s call for celebrities to help get the message out to younger residents who have increasingly contributed to the province’s COVID-19 active caseload.

“People of British Columbia!” he wrote, “Please do not go out to parties and BBQs and other large gatherings! The COVID is still out there! It’s more fun to hang out alone and smoke weed and watch movies and TV shows anyway! Do that instead! Thank you!”

Rogen joins fellow Vancouverite turned Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds in encouraging young British Columbians to stop partying amid the pandemic. 

Reynolds, star and producer of the Deadpool franchise, responded to Horgan's plea in a Tweet Friday, stating, "I got your message about the thing. Look, I'm not sure it's a great idea, frankly. People don't want medical advice from guys like me."

Following his joke, Reynolds underscored that many young people may not realize how many young people are getting sick from COVID-19 and that many of them are dying.

Reynolds continued to inject levity into the serious message by saying that his mom would also like to be out having fun on Kitsilano Beach, and that he hoped that young people in the province would keep both her and Canadian icon David Suzuki safe during the health crisis.

"I hope that young people in B.C. don't kill my mom, frankly, or David Suzuki," said Reynolds.

With active COVID-19 cases at their highest in three months, earlier this week Horgan hinted at a carrot and stick approach to British Columbians — and especially younger people — to heed health and safety guidelines.

Provincial health officials announced 85 new cases Wednesday, Aug. 12, the highest one-day total for the province since late April. By Friday, B.C. had recorded its highest three-day total since the pandemic began.

This week, Horgan said if private house parties continue to contribute to the growing caseload in the province, enforcement will follow suit, with warnings escalating into more severe penalties. 

— with files from Elana Shepert