In a no-holds-barred interview with David Remnick on “The New Yorker Radio Hour,” comedy legend Jerry Seinfeld pulled no punches when he expressed his dismay over the state of modern comedy, directly blaming the “extreme left” for infusing the art with an overdose of political correctness. The discussion, although meant to spotlight his new movie “Unfrosted,” veered into a deep dive on the impact of today’s societal sensitivities on comedy.
“Nothing really affects comedy. People always need it, they need it so badly and they don’t get it. It used to be you would go home at the end of the day. Most people would go, ‘Oh, ‘Cheers’ is on,’ ‘Oh, ‘MAS*H’ 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? Where is it?” Seinfeld lamented, echoing the frustrations of audiences seeking solace in humor.
“This is the result of the extreme Left, PC crap, and people worrying so much about offending other people,” Seinfeld explained, criticizing the prevailing culture for dampening the comedic landscape. He argued that stand-up remains one of the few arenas still immune to overt censorship. “Now they’re going to see stand-up comics because we are not policed by anyone. The audience polices us. We know when we’re off-track, we know instantly and we adjust to it instantly. But when you write a script, and it goes into four or five different hands, committees, groups, ‘Here’s our thought about this joke,’ well, that’s the end of your comedy.”
WATCH:
Comedy legend Jerry Seinfeld finally goes FULL BLAST on Left’s destruction of comedy:
“This is the result of the extreme left, and PC crap, and people worrying so much about offending other people.”
This moment is powerful.
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) April 29, 2024
The iconic comedian also drew parallels between the evolving standards of what’s acceptable in comedy and the sport of Olympic skiing, where the rules are continually adjusted. “We did an episode, of the series in the 90s, where Kramer decides to start a business of having homeless pull rickshaws, because as he says, ‘They’re outside anyway.’ Do you think I could get that episode on the air today?” he questioned, highlighting how past comedic elements would now be considered taboo.
“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 moved the gates — like in skiing — 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 asserted, describing the need for adaptability in contemporary comedic writing.
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Further illustrating the generational shift in comedic freedom, Seinfeld referenced Larry David’s work on “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” noting, “If Larry was 35 he couldn’t get away with his watermelon stuff, Palestinian chicken and you know. And HBO knows that’s what people come here for, but they’re not smart enough to figure out, ‘How do we do this now? Do we take the heat or just not be funny?’”
Despite the constraints, Seinfeld remains hopeful that new comedians will reclaim their creative autonomy through individual projects rather than relying on network oversight. He praised figures like Dave Chappelle and Michael Rapaport, who use their platforms to uphold their comedic visions against the tide of criticism. Netflix’s staunch defense of Chappelle in his specials, despite the controversy, underscores a potential pathway for comedians to preserve their voice in an increasingly cautious industry.