Julia Louis-Dreyfus calls PC comedy complaints a 'red flag' after Jerry Seinfeld comments
Julia Louis-Dreyfus doesn't seem to share Jerry Seinfeld's concerns about political correctness in comedy.
In an interview with The New York Times published Saturday, the Emmy-winning actress, 63, said political correctness can be "fantastic" after her former "Seinfeld" co-star argued comedy is being harmed by "PC crap."
"When I hear people starting to complain about political correctness − and I understand why people might push back on it − but to me that's a red flag, because it sometimes means something else," she said. "I believe being aware of certain sensitivities is not a bad thing. I don't know how else to say it."
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Louis-Dreyfus, who played Elaine Benes on "Seinfeld" from 1990 to 1998, told the NYT that while some comedy from 30 years ago hasn't aged well, there's nothing wrong with having an "antenna about sensitivities," and that "doesn't mean that all comedy goes out the window as a result."
The New York Times called Louis-Dreyfus back 11 days later for a follow-up conversation, during which she expanded on her thoughts about political correctness.
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"My feeling about all of it is that political correctness, insofar as it equates to tolerance, is obviously fantastic," she said. "And of course I reserve the right to boo anyone who says anything that offends me, while also respecting their right to free speech, right?"
The "Veep" star added that it's "good to be vigilant" because "even classically wonderful, indisputably great films from the past are riddled with attitudes that today would not be acceptable."
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Louis-Dreyfus was asked to weigh in on this topic after Seinfeld made headlines for his comments on political correctness.
On the "New Yorker Radio Hour" in April, Seinfeld contended that there are not as many comedies on TV as there once were due to "the extreme left and PC crap, and people worrying so much about offending other people." He also suggested he could not get away with some of the storylines from "Seinfeld" now.
"We did an episode of the series in the '90s where Kramer decides to start a business of having homeless pull rickshaws because, as he says, they're outside anyway," the "Seinfeld" co-creator said. "Do you think I could get that episode on the air today?"
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But Seinfeld told the New Yorker it's a comedian's job to navigate around this, noting he would "write a different joke with Kramer and the rickshaw" today. "We'd come up with another joke," he said.
Some pushed back against Seinfeld's argument by pointing to the fact that Louis-Dreyfus's HBO series "Veep," which aired from 2012 to 2019, made numerous offensive jokes while receiving critical acclaim and awards recognition. Others observed that "Curb Your Enthusiasm" got away with joking about touchy subjects, although Seinfeld argued to the New Yorker that creator Larry David was "grandfathered in" so he doesn't need to "observe those rules."
In 2015, Seinfeld similarly stated on "Late Night With Seth Meyers," "There's a creepy, PC thing out there that really bothers me."
In her interview with the NYT, Louis-Dreyfus said that "Seinfeld" could "probably not" be made today, although mainly because of how unique it was.
"It was really unlike anything that was on at the time," she said. "It was just a bunch of losers hanging out. So I would say one main reason it wouldn't be made now is because it's hard to get anything different recognized. Particularly nowadays, everyone's sort of running scared."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Julia Louis-Dreyfus weighs in on political correctness in comedy
