Tom McCarthy 

Ben Affleck and Seth Rogen testify as Senate gets a little starstruck

Actors awkwardly meet politicians as an excited Capitol Hill listens to them speak before separate congressional committees
  
  

Secretary of State John Kerry with actor Ben Affleck and Senator Russ Feingold.
Secretary of State John Kerry with actor Ben Affleck and Senator Russ Feingold. Photograph: Mike Theiler/Reuters Photograph: MIKE THEILER/REUTERS

There were curious throngs, obsequious senators and at least one selfie.

A visit Wednesday by movie stars Ben Affleck and Seth Rogen to Capitol Hill predictably stirred a spectacle. The celebrities were appearing before separate Senate committees to testify about the Democratic Republic of Congo (Affleck) and Alzheimer’s disease (Rogen).

Foreign relations committee chairman Bob Menendez, Democrat of New Jersey, opened the DR Congo hearing with a brief defense of Affleck’s bona fides, rendered only slightly awkward by Menendez’s pronouncing the star’s name as “Aflac”.

“Affleck has pursued his interests to eastern Congo with thoughtfulness and seriousness of purpose over nine trips, and so we appreciate him testifying for that purpose,” Menendez said.

Affleck arrived at the Dirksen Senate building after a detour to the State Department, where he greeted Secretary of State John Kerry with an awkward handshake:

Affleck and Kerry: awk.

Then Affleck made his way over to the Senate under the faithful guidance of a silver-haired friend:

McCain’s wife, Cindy, is on the board of Affleck’s non-profit, the Eastern Congo Initiative, and has traveled with the star to the region. The Argo director found the hearing room chockful:

Rogen, meanwhile, found time for a quick trip past the White House, where he did what any self-respecting tourist would do: selfie’d.

Rogen was accompanied at the hearing by his wife, Lauren Miller, whose mother suffers from Alzheimer’s disease. He managed to crack up the committee room with some off-the-cuff banter before beginning his testimony. Watch it on C-SPAN:

 

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