It's Jerry versus Julia, in a war of words . . . over which words comedians can use these days.
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00:00Get your finger out of my face!"
00:01You get yours out, I was here first!"
00:03It's Jerry vs. Julia in a war of words over which words comedians can use these days.
00:09In April, Jerry Seinfeld made headlines suggesting to The New Yorker that the left and political
00:14correctness are destroying TV comedy.
00:17Um, this is the result of the extreme left and PC crap and people worrying so much about
00:24offending other people."
00:26Jerry later doubled down on his remarks in an interview with Page Six, saying,
00:30"'Political correctness' is something of a worry for people that can't think."
00:34In June, his former sitcom co-star Julia Louis-Dreyfus begged to differ in an interview with The
00:39New York Times.
00:40"'Get out!'
00:42When asked about Jerry's complaints about PC crap, the Veep star said,
00:46"'I think to have an antenna about sensitivities is not a bad thing.
00:49It doesn't mean that all comedy goes out the window as a result.'"
00:52"'I'm getting a thing from Jerry saying wrap it up.'"
00:57Julia didn't call Jerry out by name, but called out comments like his, saying,
01:01"'When I hear people starting to complain about political correctness and I understand
01:05why people might push back on it, to me that's a red flag, because it sometimes means something
01:09else.
01:10I believe being aware of certain sensitivities is not a bad thing.'"
01:13Later in the interview, Julia clarified her statement, adding,
01:17"'Political correctness' insofar as it equates to tolerance is obviously fantastic, and of
01:22course, I reserve the right to boo anyone who says anything that offends me, while also
01:26respecting their right to free speech."
01:28So if PC crap isn't a threat to comedy, what is?
01:32"'Wait a minute, I know what's going on here!''
01:36Julia says to follow the money, telling The Times,
01:38"'The bigger problem, and I think the true threat to art and the creation of art, is
01:42the consolidation of money and power.
01:44All this siloing of studios and outlets and streamers and distributors, I don't think
01:48it's good for the creative voice.'"
01:50On that point, Julia and Jerry appear to agree.
01:53Jerry told The New Yorker,
01:54"'Disorientation' replaced the movie business.
01:57Everyone I know in show business, every day, is going, "'What's going on?
02:01How do you do this?
02:02What are we supposed to do now?''
02:04Julia's newest project is A24's fantasy drama Tuesday, while Jerry's pet pop-tart's project,
02:09Unfrosted, is currently streaming on Netflix.
02:11"'I believe we have split the atom of breakfast.'"
02:15Both Jerry and Julia are registered Democrats, so they're not that politically incompatible.
02:20But Jerry's anti-PC comments were boosted by prominent conservatives online.
02:24Fox News hosts Sean Hannity and Elon Musk both shared the clip, with Musk commenting,
02:29"'Make comedy legal again.'"
02:31Debates over political correctness have been raging for decades, kicking off in the 90s
02:36when the sitcom Seinfeld was all the rage.
02:38"'It's a whole new ballgame on campus these days, and they call it PC.'"
02:44But Julia told The Times that the culture has shifted very much for the good in that
02:48time, saying,
02:49"'Even classically wonderful, indisputably great films, from the past, are riddled with
02:53attitudes that today would not be acceptable.
02:55So I think it's just good to be vigilant.'"