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Add Jerry Seinfeld to the list of comedians who believe the job isn’t as easy as it used to be.
While on the promotional tour for his new Netflix movie Unfrosted (about the creation of the Pop-Tart), Seinfeld sat down for an interview with The New Yorker and railed against the “extreme left and P.C. crap” for hurting TV comedy.
“It used to be, you would go home at the end of the day, most people would go, ‘Oh, Cheers is on. Oh, MASH is on. Oh, Mary Tyler Moore is on. All in the Family is on.’ You just expected, ‘There’ll be some funny stuff we can watch on TV tonight.’ Well, guess what—where is it? This is the result of the extreme left and P.C. crap, and people worrying so much about offending other people,” the famed sitcom star said.
Seinfeld then recalled a specific joke from an episode of Seinfeld in which his neighbor Kramer launches a business of homeless people pulling rickshaws because they’re “outside anyway.” The 70-year-old comedian doubted he would get away with such a joke today.
“Do you think I could get that episode on the air today?…We would write a different joke with Kramer and the rickshaw today. We wouldn’t do that joke. We’d come up with another joke. They move the gates like in the slalom. Culture—the gates are moving. Your job is to be agile and clever enough that, wherever they put the gates, I’m going to make the gate,” Seinfeld said.
Given Seinfeld’s status in the comedy world, his opinion is obviously relevant to the discussion about the modern state of comedy. And, objectively, he’s right in terms of there being jokes “allowed” back then that would not fly today. That, however, does not necessarily impact the ability to perform or enjoy comedy.
The issue with Seinfeld’s logic becomes shaky when you consider that his former partner-in-crime Larry David has been able to remain funny with Curb Your Enthusiasm for the last 20-plus years, which is a series that routinely steps on and crosses sociopolitical boundaries. The same can be said for It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Or The Boys.
Plus, as many people have pointed out on social media, Seinfeld’s comedy isn’t that of Bill Burr or Anthony Jeselnik, but rather, the exact opposite, as his brand of humor is famously known for both its lack of swearing and being based around benign observations of everyday life. His newest movie is about eating dessert for breakfast.
Jerry Seinfeld: PC culture and fear of offending people is killing funny shows.
"When you write a script and it goes into four or five different hands, committee, groups—'here's our thought about this joke'—well that's the end of your comedy." pic.twitter.com/YZuWo5HlJu
— 🚨 Katherine Brodsky (@mysteriouskat) April 28, 2024
In addition to Seinfeld, Unfrosted also stars Melissa McCarthy, Jim Gaffigan, Hugh Grant, Amy Schumer, Pete Dinklage, Bill Burr, Dan Levy, James Marsden, Christian Slate, Jack McBrayer, and more. The film will be released on Netflix on Friday, May 3.