Jerry Seinfeld walks back claim of ‘extreme left’ killing comedy

Comedian Jerry Seinfeld appears to have altered his stance, expressing “regret” over his earlier comments this year suggesting that the “extreme left” has harmed comedy.

In April, the 70-year-old creator of *Unfrosted* stated that “PC crap” has effectively ended true television comedy at a time when audiences are in need of lighthearted humor.

During a discussion with *The New Yorker*, Seinfeld noted that contemporary TV shows lack humor because writers are “worrying so much about offending other people.”

However, Seinfeld has since retracted those statements. While appearing on comedian Tom Papa’s *Breaking Bread* podcast, he insisted he has to “take back” his remarks from April.

Seinfeld declared it “is not true” that the “extreme left” has stifled the art of comedy, using a skiing analogy to make his point.

“If you’re a champion skier, you can put the gates anywhere you want on the mountain and you’re going to make the gate. That’s comedy,” Seinfeld explained. “Whatever the culture is, we make the gate. You don’t make the gate, you’re out of the game. The game is where is the gate and how do I make the gate to get down the hill.”

He acknowledged that culture has evolved and admitted there are certain things he would have said in his comedy routine years ago that are now deemed inappropriate.

“You can’t say certain words about groups. So what? The accuracy of your observation has to be 100 times finer than that just to be a comedian,” he said.

“It’s not my business to like or not like where the culture is at,” he clarified. “It’s my business to make the gate, to stick with my skiing analogy.”

Seinfeld humorously remarked on the surprising media coverage and public reaction to his comments regarding the “extreme left.”

“I didn’t know that people care what comedians say,” he laughed. “That came as news to me. Who the hell cares what a comedian thinks about anything?”

He also clarified his previous remarks about performing comedy at college campuses.

In 2015, Seinfeld (along with other comedians) stated he avoids performing stand-up at colleges due to concerns that students are too politically correct and might misinterpret his jokes as racist or sexist.

In his conversation with Papa, Seinfeld denied ever claiming he doesn’t perform on campuses, asserting that he actually entertains college students “all the time.”

“I have no problem with kids, performing for them,” he said, citing several campuses where he recently performed. “I do colleges all the time. So, that perception that I don’t do colleges is just wrong.”

Seinfeld’s April remarks about the “extreme left” sparked significant discussion within the comedy community and beyond. Critics of his viewpoint pointed to successful TV comedies like *Curb Your Enthusiasm*, *Hacks*, and *Veep* as evidence that the genre remains vibrant.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Seinfeld’s longtime co-star, challenged his perspective on the state of comedy. In an interview on the *On with Kara Swisher* podcast, Louis-Dreyfus described Seinfeld’s comments as “bulls—t.”

“There’s a lot of talk about how comics can’t be funny now,” she said. “Physical comedy and intellectual comedy and political comedy, I think, has never been more interesting, because there’s so much to do.”

“When I hear people starting to complain about political correctness — and I understand why people might push back on it — 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.”