Jerry Seinfeld takes back comments on ‘extreme left’ ruining comedy

Comedian Jerry Seinfeld said in a Tuesday interview he regrets saying the “extreme left” was ruining comedy and added, upon further reflection, he does not agree with that sentiment.  

“I did an interview with The New Yorker, and I said that the extreme left has suppressed the art of comedy. I did say that,” Seinfeld said in an interview on “Breaking Bread with Tom Papa.”

“I did say that,” he continued. “It’s not true. It’s not true.”

Seinfeld said it’s the job of a comedian to adapt to modern culture and to craft jokes that fall within the parameters of what is acceptable to say and what is, therefore, funny to the audience.

“If you’re Lindsey Vonn, if you’re a champion skier, you can put the gates anywhere you want on the mountain. She’s going to make the gate,” Seinfeld said. “That’s comedy. 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? How do I make the gate and get down the hill in the way I want to?”

“Does culture change and are there things I used to say that I can’t say, that everybody’s always moving? Yeah,” Seinfeld said. “But that’s the biggest, easiest target. You know, you can’t say certain words, you know, whatever they are, versus about groups. So what? The accuracy of your observation has to be a hundred times finer than that to just be a comedian.”

Seinfeld joined The New Yorker for an interview in April, when he lamented what he said was a decline in funny television, saying comedy today is not concerned enough about drawing laughter as it is focused on not offending audiences.

“This is the result of the extreme left and PC crap, and people worrying so much about offending other people,” Seinfeld said then.

He said he was surprised by the media attention the spring interview got and thought it didn’t matter what he or other comedians thought about today’s culture, adding, “Your only business is: Do you want to play? Do you want to play this game? Here’s how it’s played.”

“I don’t think the, as I said, the extreme left has done anything to inhibit the art of comedy. I’m taking that back now officially. They have not,” he said this week. “Do you like it? Maybe, maybe not. It’s not my business to like or not like where the culture is at. It’s my business to make the gate, to stay with my skiing analogy. You make the gate, or you’re out.”