Paul Rudd, Who Is Totally a Millennial, Says: Mask Up

Oh wait, he's 51
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 16, 2020 3:30 AM CDT

Paul Rudd, who still looks essentially the same as he did in Clueless, must be a millennial ... right? And as such, he is completely qualified to address his generation. Which is why New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo asked the actor to issue a PSA about mask-wearing amid the coronavirus pandemic. "He's like, Paul, you gotta help. What are you, like, 26? And I didn't correct him," says Rudd in the video, which features him using basically every bit of "young person" slang an old person might be able to come up with. Eventually, however, Rudd, who is in actuality 51 years old, gets amusingly fed up. Watch in full here or in our gallery.

Reactions ran the gamut, with Los Angeles Times calling the video "cringeworthy" as Kottke, CNN, and many celebrities on Twitter went with "hilarious." In a radio interview Tuesday, Cuomo explained that the idea came to him due to his frustration with how to reach young people who think they're "invincible" and refuse to wear masks. "I call up Paul Rudd, and I'm a big fan of Paul Rudd, I had met him at an event. I call him up and I said, 'you know can you do a PSA, a video, that really gets to young people?' And he's respectful, he's listening to me, 'yeah, yeah, yeah I can do that.' I said, 'you know you're funny. I think humor might do it,' because I've tried everything. I've begged, I've pleaded, I've threatened. I don't know what else to say." And then the kicker: "I didn't know he was 51 years old. You know, he looks like a kid, doesn't he, Paul Rudd?" (More Paul Rudd stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X