It’s been nearly two months since TV icon Jerry Seinfeld generated right-wing applause with complaints about awareness of cultural sensitivities. But in a new interview, Julia Louis-Dreyfus made it clear that she disagrees with her 70-year-old Seinfeld co-star, even suggesting that his comments are a bit out of step.
As you might recall, Jerry Seinfeld and Julia Louis-Dreyfus moved from comedy fan favorites to household names in the early 1990s, when Seinfeld hit the air. Since then, televised reruns of the show have lined the pockets of far-right commentator Steve Bannon, who has an ownership stake in the show. That was arguably its one of its greatest controversies until April, when show co-creator Seinfeld told the New Yorker that “the extreme left and P.C. crap” has killed off televised comedies (though many remain on the air).
The reaction was swift, with pundits on the right embracing the comedian, while others characterized his comments as the standard language of a wealthy American of a certain age.
But while Louis-Dreyfus is arguably wealthy and within Seinfeld’s demographic, she’s taking pains to demonstrate that her former co-star’s views aren’t her own. In an interview with the New York Times Magazine, she admitted that—as noticed by others watching Seinfeld in 2024—“If you look back on comedy and drama both, let’s say 30 years ago, through the lens of today, you might find bits and pieces that don’t age well.” But in her mind, that doesn’t mean things can’t evolve with the times.
“I think to have an antenna about sensitivities is not a bad thing,” Louis-Dreyfus continued, adding pointedly “It doesn’t mean that all comedy goes out the window as a result.”
A subsequent comment from the actor also sounds like a response to her former co-star's remarks. “When I hear people starting to 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.”
Those are unsurprising words from a public figure who previously teamed up with Seinfeld compatriots Jason Alexander and Larry David for a Democratic fundraiser in 2020. That event was a walk down Seinfeld’s memory lane, but according to Louis-Dreyfus, these days she’s looking forward.
“I just know that the lens through which we create art today — and I’m not going to just specify it to comedy, it’s also drama — it’s a different lens. It really is,” she said. “Things have shifted. And in that case, I would say, things have shifted very much for the good.”
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