Comedian and actor Jerry Seinfeld Follows his comments about comedy being ruined by what he describes as over-sensitivity. After a long career in stand-up comedy that helped him rise to prominence, the star shot to fame with his eponymous sitcom SeinfeldWhich starred the comic as a fictionalized version of himself in his daily life in New York City. Beyond the sitcom and his stand-up routines, Seinfeld has also turned his attention to directing, most recently the result of 2024’s Pop-Tart creation movie Unfrosted.
After Seinfeld made controversial comments in April that blamed leftist beliefs and political correctness for causing a decline in comedy, The Daily Beast reports that the actor addresses his past statements in an upcoming episode of The Breaking bread podcast. Seinfeld says that his previous comments are not true, and that it is up to comedians whether their material can land, explaining:
I said that the ‘extreme left’ suppressed the art of comedy. I said that. This is not true. It is not true. Whatever the culture is, we create the portal. You don’t open the gate, you’re out of the game.
Later in the episode, Seinfeld says that comedians should avoid targeting previously controversial topics for easier laughs based on shock value, and think about how their comedy interacts with today’s topics. This begins when he is asked if it is true that he will not perform on college campuses that are too politically correct. He says:
Not true. First of all, I never said it, but if you think I said it, it’s not true… so that perception that I don’t play colleges – wrong. I do, I play them all the time, and it’s not a problem. So, does culture change? And are there things that I used to say that I can’t say that everyone is always moved by? Yes, but this is the biggest, easiest goal. The accuracy of your observation should be a hundred times better than that. I don’t think that, as I said, the ‘extreme leftist’ did anything to inhibit the art of comedy.
The comedian seemed to reflect on his stance
When Seinfeld made his comments in April, various voices in the industry and across the internet were quick to weigh in on his points. While conservative pundits and far-right commentators were quick to embrace his perspective, other comedians pushed back against his claims. For example, Rob McElhenney, creator of It’s always sunny in PhiladelphiaChallenged one of Seinfeld’s complaints about his jokes, while before Seinfeld Star Julia Louis-Dreyfus said Seinfeld’s comments were a “Red flag.“
The idea of ​​political correctness, or just a desire to avoid making fun of sensitive topics, ruining comedy has become a hot button issue in Hollywood, and Seinfeld’s initial comments seemed to put him on the side of controversial comedians and public figures. However, it seems that he took the time to reflect on the point he was actually trying to make, and realized that he vocalized it incorrectly. This is somewhat of a relief, and it shows that liberal perspectives on comedy are not bad; It all comes down to how a comedian presents their work.
Many comedians are still thriving despite new perspectives
As people like McElhenney and Louis-Dreyfus have pointed out, the comedy is not hindered by any sort of over-sensitivity or political correctness. As seen with series such as Hacks And What we do in the shadowsThere are comedies that can carefully cross the line of certain taboos and be transgressive without the intention of causing harm. This is something that some critics have a hard time grasping, and it seemed that Seinfeld did too.
It’s up to the creative to adapt and learn, and, as Seinfeld now says, it comes down to how original and clever a comedian’s jokes actually are. There are ways to be funny without punching down at people who don’t deserve it; Comedy is thriving precisely with this sentiment. As such, it appears Seinfeld reached this conclusion and now admits that comedy has not yet been destroyed by modern perspectives.
Source: Breaking bread (via The Daily Beast)