Julia Louis-Dreyfus' Classy Take On Jerry Seinfeld's Rant Speaks Volumes
Julia Louis-Dreyfus had some choice words for Jerry Seinfeld as she made her stance on his controversial comments about political correctness in comedy very clear. In April, Seinfeld suggested to The New Yorker that political correctness is destroying comedy. During an interview with The New York Times published on June 8, Louis-Dreyfus hit back in a classy way by revealing she supports comedians who are more careful with their jokes so as not to offend their audience. When asked about political correctness in comedy (with Seinfeld's name dropped in the question by the interviewer), she responded: "I think to have an antenna about sensitivities is not a bad thing. It doesn't mean that all comedy goes out the window as a result."
The actor then called out those who have something negative to say about political correctness. Though Louis-Dreyfus didn't mention her former "Seinfeld" co-star explicitly by name, she added: "I understand why people might push back on it — but to me that's a red flag, because it sometimes means something else. I believe being aware of certain sensitivities is not a bad thing."
Louis-Dreyfus starred alongside Seinfeld for all nine seasons of his self-titled sitcom between 1989 and 1998 and has won countless awards for her comedy work. While the former co-workers will have to agree to disagree on political correctness, Louis-Dreyfus speaking her piece without throwing anyone under the bus by name speaks volumes about her character.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus' comments followed Jerry Seinfeld's controversial political correctness comments
In Jerry Seinfeld's The New Yorker interview in April, the actor and comedian said he doesn't believe there's a lot left on television that's actually funny. "This is the result of the extreme left and P.C. crap, and people worrying so much about offending other people," he noted, also claiming that some of the jokes made on "Seinfeld" wouldn't be aired today. Despite his critique of "the extreme left," Seinfeld is a registered Democrat, as is Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Seinfeld has been known to donate to Democrats and Louis-Dreyfus hosted the political party's virtual convention in 2020, so it seems that, overall, they're not that politically incompatible.
Seinfeld commented on political correctness again during an interview with Page Six published the same month as his interview with The New Yorker. "Political correctness is something of a worry for people that can't think," he said. Seinfeld then offered up some advice to those struggling with the idea of being P.C. "Pick up a paper, find out what's going on and just navigate around it," he said.
Clearly Louis-Dreyfus didn't agree with Seinfeld's take, but there were a number of famous conservative faces who did. Elon Musk posted a clip from Seinfeld's The New Yorker interview to X, formerly known as Twitter, alongside the comment, "Make comedy legal again!" Fox News host Sean Hannity also shared Seinfeld's quotes, which were published in a post on his website.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus has shut down Jerry Seinfeld before
This isn't the first time Julia Louis-Dreyfus has very publicly gone against something Jerry Seinfeld has said. In October 2023, Louis-Dreyfus shut down her former co-star after he spoke about "Seinfeld" on stage. The comedian suggested during a stand-up show that there may just be a reunion coming after a fan asked if he liked the way the show ultimately ended — even though Seinfeld is no fan of watching the series back. "Well, I have a little secret for you about the ending. But I can't really tell it, because it is a secret," Seinfeld said (via The Guardian). "Something is going to happen that has to do with that ending. Hasn't happened yet," he then added. But Louis-Dreyfus wasn't having any of it. She hit back during an interview with The Guardian when asked about Seinfeld's coy tease, bluntly responding, "I don't know what the hell he's talking about."
It sounds like fans shouldn't be surprised to hear these former cast members have such differing opinions. Jason Alexander (who played George Costanza on "Seinfeld") has admitted the cast were never quite as close friends as some may have thought. "We were never social friends, we were work friends. We had very different lives," he revealed on "The Project" in 2020, though he did share he was once tight with Louis-Dreyfus because they were expecting children (who are all grown up now) around the same time.