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'The Audience Polices Us': Jerry Seinfeld Criticizes ‘Extreme Left and PC’ Culture For Hampering Current Comedy Climate
Jerry Seinfeld speaks out about the jokes that he cannot include if Seinfeld was made today. Read ahead to learn about his take on the current comedy climate.
Jerry Seinfeld, 70, who co-created one of the most iconic series with Larry David named Seinfeld has already left a huge imprint in the world of sitcoms. With a remarkable filmography, Jerry Seinfeld has always experimented with the work that he has been a part of. Recently the 70-year-old comedian gave an interview with The New Yorker. He did not hold back from expressing his opinions about today’s comedy climate.
Jerry Seinfeld on today’s comedy climate
Jerry pointed out the changing comedy climate of today and some of the jokes he can't get away with if the Seinfeld series was made today. He condemned the “PC (political correctness)” culture for hampering comedy. He said to the outlet that it was expected in the past decades that there would be some "funny stuff” that the audience could watch on TV. He questioned the existence of it. He blamed it on “extreme left and PC crap” and people concerned about offending other people.
He pointed out that people are hoping to see standup comics as they are not “policed” by anyone. He said that when they are off track, they know instantly how to adjust it. Seinfeld added, “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.”
He reflected on one of Seinfeld’s episodes where Kramer decides to start a business having homeless people pull rickshaws, as his reasoning says, “they’re outside anyway”. Seinfeld said that they would not do that joke today. They’d come up with a different joke.
Jerry Seinfeld on Larry David
Larry David, 76 was able to get away with certain edgy humor in HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm because he was “grandfathered in”, according to Seinfeld. He countered, however, that if David had been younger and attempted to launch a new comedy series, some of these same jokes would not be accepted.
He said, “If Larry was 35, he couldn’t get away with watermelon stuff and Palestinian chicken … 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?’”
He said that the networks had decided not to do comedies anymore. He noted, “There were no sitcoms picked up on the fall season of all four networks. Not one. No new sitcoms.” The comedian is now geared up for his upcoming directorial debut Unfrosted. Apart from his the film also stars, Hugh Grant, Melissa McCarthy, Jim Gaffigan, and Maria Bakalova. The film will be released on May 3.
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