Legendary American comic Jerry Seinfeld says the “extreme left” has killed television comedy because jokes now have to be run through committees and networks are obsessed with not “offending people.”
Seinfeld, whose eponymous sitcom drew 76 million viewers in the late 90’s at its peak, made the comments in an interview with The New Yorker’s David Remnick.
“It used to be, you would go home at the end of the day, most people would go: ‘Oh, Cheers is on; oh, MAS*H is on; oh, Mary Tyler Moore is on; All in the Family is on,” he said.
“You just expected there’ll be some funny stuff we can watch on TV tonight. Well, guess what? Where is it?” This is the result of the extreme Left and PC crap and people worrying so much about offending other people,” Seinfeld added.
He also emphasized how routines now have to be run through woke purity filters before they are even approved for broadcast.
“When you write a script and it goes into four or five different hands, committees, groups – ‘here’s our thought about this joke’ – well, that’s the end of your comedy,” said the comic.
The last bastion of true free speech remains in stand-up, which hasn’t yet completely folded to the mob, according to Seinfeld.
“Now they’re going to see stand-up comics because they are not policed by anyone. The audience polices us. We know when we’re off track. We know instantly. And we adjust to it instantly.”
“With certain comedians now, people are having fun with them stepping over the line, and us all laughing about it,” said the 70-year-old.
“But again, it’s the stand-ups that really have the freedom to do it because no one else gets the blame if it doesn’t go down well,” he added.
As far back as nine years ago, Seinfeld had already issued a warning that political correctness was destroying comedy.
In June 2015, he said that top comedians like Chris Rock had dispensed with performing at colleges because the audience was too woke.
“I hear that all the time,” Seinfeld said. “I don’t play colleges, but I hear a lot of people tell me, ‘Don’t go near colleges. They’re so PC.'”
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I remember laughing so much in the 80s and 90s. Not so much now – and they wonder why depression is at record levels.
The Frog and the Scorpion. You have no one to blame but yourself for taking the commies on.
Truly Tasteless Jokes, publishd 1982 When jokes were still legal.
The “Extreme Left”, that is, the
Foreign Nazis, think nothing is funny except torturing small animals in their “Laboratories!” and killing Palestinian babies!
They’re sick demons from Hell!