Jerry Seinfeld apologises to Howard Stern following criticism about his “comedy chops”
Following a set of critical remarks about Howard Stern, Jerry Seinfeld has reflected on the broadcaster’s impact and asked for his forgiveness.
In a recent podcast interview, Seinfeld candidly discussed his opinion of Stern’s style, saying that he lacked “comedy chops” and has been “outflanked’ by comedy podcasts. He said that comedians like himself are “better than him now”, adding that “Robin is a big part of how he’s funny”.
Reflecting on his comments, he told TMZ: “I really feel bad for what I said about my friend Howard Stern in a conversation with David Spade and Dana Carvey, talking about the glut of comedy podcasts.”
The director of the new Netflix movie, Unfrosted, also clarified his choice of words, adding that he “meant to say he must feel surrounded, but I said ‘outflanked,’ which sounded terrible and insulting.”
Referring to the comparisons he made with new comedy shows, he said “none of these little shows are any threat to his giant show” and admitted “it was bad. and I’m sorry, Howie. I still love you. Please forgive me.”
Despite recognising the vast market for such formats, he also criticised the way that some broadcasters conduct their shows, hitting out at the ones that go into more personal narratives and stray away from the comedic aspects of the show.
“Jesus Christ, make us laugh, how interesting do you think you are?” he said. Adding: “You’re not that interesting, okay? You’re not. When you’re funny, you’re worth it. This is my line, which you know me, you know me, no but you know that I draw that line. If you’re not that funny, we’re not that interested in you.”
This follows previous comments Seinfeld made about the current state of comedy, accusing the “extreme left” of playing a major part in the demise of good comedy.
During an interview with the New Yorker, while discussing comedy as escapism, he stated, “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, m*a*s*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?”
He continued, “This is the result of the extreme left and P.C. crap, and people worrying so much about offending other people. Now they’re going to see standup comics because we are not policed by anyone.”
He then compared the differences between stand-up and television, saying that the audience “polices us”, stating that television differs because “you write a script and it goes into four or five different hands, committees, groups” who then give feedback about the inappropriateness of a certain joke or idea. “Well, that’s the end of your comedy.”
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