Back in April, Jerry Seinfeld went on record to smack down the "extreme left," spewing the typical Gen X talking point that "P.C. crap" is the reason nothing is funny anymore. Not all of his colleagues agree, however, as Julia Louis-Dreyfus has shot down his sentiments in a recent New York Times interview.
Journalist Lulu Garcia-Navarro brought up how hard it is to execute political satire effectively, before asking Louis-Dreyfus how she felt about her former co-star's comments. "If you look back on comedy and drama both, let's say 30 years ago, through the lens of today, you might find bits and pieces that don't age well," she replied. "And I think to have an antenna about sensitivities is not a bad thing. It doesn't mean that all comedy goes out the window as a result."
She continued: "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. I believe being aware of certain sensitivities is not a bad thing. I don't know how else to say it."
After being asked if she finds some things she once found funny out of touch now, Louis-Dreyfus asked to think about it, then responded 11 days later when Garcia-Navarro called her back.
I wanted to make sure that I answered this whole idea of political correctness correctly, and I can't really remember what I said. So I wanted to go back to that and be very clear about where I stand. My feeling about all of it is that political correctness, insofar as it equates to tolerance, is obviously fantastic. 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? But the bigger problem — and I think the true threat to art and the creation of art — is the consolidation of money and power. All this siloing of studios and outlets and streamers and distributors — I don't think it's good for the creative voice. So that's what I want to say in terms of the threat to art.
Recently, Louis-Dreyfus starred in Tuesday as the mother of a terminally ill teenager. Exclaim! gave it a 6/10 in a mostly positive review. Meanwhile, it's probably advisable that you skip Seinfeld's latest endeavour Unfrosted, lest you get mixed up with the wrong crowd.