Jerry Seinfeld defended his refusal to hug Kesha during an event earlier in the week, telling "Extra"'s AJ Calloway he prefers to know a person before hugging them.
"I’m 63, I don’t know every pop star. ... I don’t know everyone," Seinfeld said, according to "Extra."
Kesha interrupted Seinfeld to ask for a hug during his interview with Tommy McFly on Monday during the Night of Laughter & Song, held at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. A video clip of the comedian declining the hug and backing away from the singer went viral.
“I was right in the middle of an interview, it was a little off,” Seinfeld told Calloway at the GOOD+ Foundation and MR PORTER Fatherhood Lunch on Thursday. "When you get to be my age and you've done a couple things, you have your own reality, in my reality … I don't hug a total stranger. I have to meet someone, say hello. I gotta start somewhere … hug isn't first moment of a human, two humans. I never did that.”
“I got a borderline harassment case here!” he laughed, adding that while he didn't hug her, “I'm sure I would've liked her, but I need to know who are you.”
The exchange drew attention on social media.