Jerry Seinfeld regrets saying ‘extreme left and PC crap’ killed comedy
It’s not often you hear public figures admit they were wrong, but six months after he caused a furore, Jerry Seinfeld has issued a mea culpa.
In April, the comedian, actor and producer said in an interview that he thought the reason there wasn’t reliable comedic fare (he named Mary Tyler Moore, Cheers and MASH as examples) on TV was because “extreme left and PC crap” had killed comedy.
Now, he’s walking that back. During an hour-long interview on the podcast Tom Papa’s Breading Bread, Seinfeld admitted he “regretted” saying it.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“I said that the ‘extreme left’ has suppressed the art of comedy. I did say that. That’s not true, it’s not true,” Seinfeld told Papa.
He used a skiing analogy and compared comedians responding to shifts in culture to how American champion skier Lindsey Vonn could make the gate on the slope, no matter where they are.
“That’s comedy. Whatever the culture is, we make the gate. You don’t make the gate, you’re out of the game,” he explained.
“Does culture change? And are there things that I used to say that I can’t say because are always moving (the gate)? Yes, but that’s the biggest, easiest target. You can’t say certain words, whatever they are, about groups. So what?
“The accuracy of your observation has to be 100 times finer than that, just to be a comedian, to understand.”
Seinfeld made a similar argument involving gates on a ski slope in that initial April interview, in which he almost appeared to contradict his declaration that the “extreme left” was killing comedy.
He added this week, “So I don’t think, as I said, the ‘extreme left’ has done anything to inhibit the art of comedy. I’m taking that back now, officially. They have not.
“Do you like it? Maybe, maybe not. It is not my business to like or not like where the culture is at. It is my business to make the gate, to stay with my skiing analogy. You make the gate or you’re out.”
His original comments were met with a lot of reaction in a larger cultural debate that has been framed as offensiveness versus suppression. Other comedians such as Louis C.K. and Dave Chappelle have blamed “censorship” for attempting to “cancel” them.
Chappelle has drawn fire for views perceived to be anti-trans while Louis C.K. was exposed for multiple incidents of sexual harassment against female comedians.
One of those who spoke out against Seinfeld’s April comments was his former co-star, Julia Louis-Dreyfus. She said, “When I hear people complain about political correctness – and I understand why people might push back on it – but to me, that’s a red flag because it sometimes means something else.
“I believe being aware of certain sensitivities is not a bad thing. I don’t know how else to say it.”
In his chat on Breaking Bread, Seinfeld claimed to have been genuinely shocked by the attention his earlier comments attracted.
“I did not know people care what comedians say. That came as news to me. Who cares what comedians have to say about anything. I thought being a comedian, you get to say whatever you want because no one is listening,” he said.
Seinfeld, 70, has been in the entertainment business for more than four decades and gave that quote in a profile in The New Yorker while promoting his film Unfrosted, which suggested that he had an inkling that people were paying attention to what he had to say.
