Comedian Jerry Seinfeld recently criticised “the extreme left” for what he sees as an overemphasis on political correctness, hindering humour in television comedies.
Seinfeld, known for his humour on his namesake show, “Seinfeld” – the highest viewed comedy of its time in 1998 – compared the current state of TV comedy to its status in the past.
“People always need [comedy],” he said on The New Yorker's Radio Hour. “They don't get it.”
He continued, “It used to be that you'd go home at the end of the day, most people would go, ‘Oh, ’Cheers' is on. Oh, ‘M.A.S.H.’ is on. Oh, ‘[The] Mary Tyler Moore [Show]’ is on, ‘All in the Family’ is on.' You just expected [there will] be some funny stuff we can watch on TV tonight.
Seinfeld then commented on the lack of “funny” content available today, “Well, guess what? Where is it? Where is it? This is the result of the extreme left and P.C. c**p and people worrying so much about offending other people.”
Speaking about over-regulation in comedy, he said, “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.”
The “Seinfeld” show creator also acknowledged the need for comedians to adapt to society, “They move the gates. Your job is to be… clever enough… to make the gate.”
Seinfeld also recognised the rise of stand-up. He acknowledges audiences enjoying comedians who “step over the line,” but adds, “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 or she can take all the blame [themselves.]”
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