British Columbia woke up Sunday to a reshaped political landscape but no clear winner of a provincial election marked by the rise of the B.C. Conservatives from the political fringe to centre stage.
Jerry Seinfeld says he no longer thinks the 'extreme left' has broken comedy
Jerry Seinfeld says he 鈥渙fficially鈥 takes back his claim that the 鈥渆xtreme left鈥 is suppressing the art of comedy.
In an interview with earlier this year, the comedian reminisced about how comedy once was 鈥 and spoke out against the current cultural climate.
鈥淚t used to be you would go home at the end of the day, most people would go, 鈥極h, 鈥楥heers鈥 is on. Oh, 鈥楳*A*S*H鈥 is on. Oh, 鈥楳ary Tyler Moore鈥 is on. 鈥楢ll in the Family鈥 is on,鈥 You just expected, there鈥檒l be some funny stuff we can watch on TV tonight,鈥 he told The New Yorker in April.
鈥淲ell, guess what 鈥 where is it? This is the result of the extreme left and P.C. crap, and people worrying so much about offending other people,鈥 he said.
Now, Seinfeld says he regrets those comments and takes them back.
Speaking to comedian Tom Papa on Tuesday鈥檚 episode of the , Seinfeld admitted that he 鈥済ot it wrong鈥 and it is 鈥渘ot true鈥 that the extreme left has inhibited the art of comedy. He also denied reports that he does not play gigs at colleges because students are too politically correct. 鈥淣ot true鈥 I never said it鈥 I play colleges all the time.鈥
Comedians, Seinfeld explained, must respond to changes in the culture like how champion skiers have to make the gates on a mountain.
In this Wednesday, July 17, 2019, file photo Jerry Seinfeld attends the "Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee," photo call at The Paley Center for Media, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP, File)
鈥淚f you鈥檙e Lindsey Vonn, if you鈥檙e a champion skier, you can put the gates anywhere you want on the mountain 鈥 she鈥檚 gonna make the gate. That鈥檚 comedy,鈥 said Seinfeld.
鈥淲hatever the culture is, we make the gate. You don鈥檛 make the gate, you鈥檙e out of the game. The game is, 鈥榃here is the gate, how do I make the gate and get down the hill the way I want to?鈥欌
鈥淒oes culture change? And are there things I used to say that I can鈥檛 say?鈥 Yeah. But that鈥檚 the biggest, easiest target, you know 鈥 you can鈥檛 say certain words, 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.鈥
Seinfeld added that it doesn鈥檛 matter whether comedians like these cultural changes or not, saying their only job is to 鈥減lay the game鈥 according to what is acceptable.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think the 鈥 extreme left has done anything to inhibit the art of comedy. I鈥檓 taking that back now officially. They have not. Do you like it? Maybe, maybe not 鈥 it鈥檚 not my business to like or not like where the culture is at,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 my business to make the gate, to stay with my skiing analogy鈥 you make the gate or you鈥檙e out.鈥
It may be hard, but so is making good comedy, according to the 鈥淯nfrosted鈥 star.,
鈥淐omedy is hard. Big, giant period 鈥 You want to make a fabulous living making people giggle? That sure sounds great 鈥 it鈥檚 gonna take a lot.鈥
Seinfeld also set the record straight on another set of comments that earlier this year, when he lamented the loss of 鈥渄ominant masculinity鈥 in the United States.
In Tuesday鈥檚 podcast he said his choice of words was 鈥減robably not the greatest phrase for what I was really saying,鈥 and clarified that what he meant was that he missed the 鈥渂ig personalities鈥 of the past, like Muhammad Ali and Sean Connery.
鈥淭hese were all the people I wanted to be like as a kid鈥 I wanted to have that kind of authority and style, it was really a style thing. Everyone conforms more to not offend鈥 I thought it was a great flavour in my youth. That made a headline the next day that I was calling for toxic masculinity to come back.鈥
鈥淲e don鈥檛 need the toxic part, but the big personalities are fun.鈥
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