Seth Rogen Lights Giant Bong at Hollywood Bowl Show, Joking, “Weed’s Legal, What Am I Trying to Prove?”
At his “Seth Rogen Smokes the Bowl” show on Tuesday night, Rogen transformed the Hollywood Bowl into a stoner’s paradise.
The music and comedy show, which was part of the Netflix is a Joke festival, featured a star-studded lineup of performances from Snoop Dogg, Post Malone, Lil Dicky, Bill Burr, Ramy Youssef, Ronny Chieng and Abbott Elementary‘s Janelle James. The event benefited his and wife Lauren Miller’s non-profit Hilarity For Charity, which advocates for individuals and families impacted by Alzheimer’s disease.
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Rogen kicked off the night by lighting a giant bong that was planted on the Bowl stage, channeling an Olympic opening ceremony as the Hollywood Chamber Orchestra played alongside him. Lil Dicky sang the national anthem (as well as a few of his hits), as Rogen returned to tell the orchestra, “I can’t imagine as you were practicing your entire lives to be amazing musicians you imagined you’d be playing to a middle-aged man lighting a 35-foot bong in the middle of the stage. I’m so sorry; I owe you a formal apology for that.”
He teased of the centerpiece, “If I’m being honest, even I think this is a little bit much. Weed’s legal, what am I trying to prove? But everyone’s real thrilled they get to perform in front of this, I’m sure.”
Seth Rogen lights a giant bong to start his “Seth Smokes the Bowl” show at the Hollywood Bowl pic.twitter.com/71i5M4tSSq
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) May 8, 2024
Performing a brief monologue at the top of the show, Rogen called out the “crazy shit going on right now” in the rap world between Kendrick Lamar and Drake, noting that for diss tracks like Alanis Morissette’s “You Oughta Know” there was at least an air of mystery to who it was about.
“Now Kendrick is like, ‘Fuck you Drake, you’re a pedophile.’ And these are hits, people are dancing to these songs,” Rogen teased, before admitting, “I should probably stop there, to be totally honest. I see these people in my personal life, I don’t know what I’m doing up here right now.”
Rogen brought out Chieng, who joked, “It’s great to perform in legendary American venues like this, where Dave Chappelle almost got murdered” — referencing Chappelle’s Hollywood Bowl attack in 2022 — and then introduced Ike Barinholtz, D’Arcy Carden, Lisa Gilroy and Drew Tarver for a live improv set with a twist, as the four took joint hits in between skits.
Youssef was up next, as he told the crowd, “I don’t think anyone here understands how much weed is being smoked backstage.” He added that, “Seth asked me to be on the show and and I said, ‘You know I don’t smoke weed’ and he said, ‘Dude no problem,’ but it’s a problem. I said, ‘What’s the show for?’ and he said, ‘It’s for my charity’ and I said, ‘Amazing, what’s it for?’ and he said, ‘Alzheimer’s.’ OK so why the weed for the Alzheimer’s with the forgetting and the smoke and when do we cure it? ‘Is it being cured?’ was a question I asked backstage.”
Rogen then announced Post Malone as a surprise guest, as the musician performed five-song set, and Rogen reminded the audience, “This is a charity event. I think of all the shows at the Hollywood Bowl, this is the only one where the money goes to charity — Jerry Seinfeld kept the money, just know that.” He brought out second surprise guest Burr, who teased, “I love the whole outlaw vibe of this. You guys know weed is legal, right?”
Snoop Dogg closed out the night with a performance — as many people in the crowd lit up at his request — followed by a fireworks show overhead.
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