Julia Louis-Dreyfus: Complaints About PC in Comedy a 'Red Flag'

Julia Louis-Dreyfus weighed in on Jerry Seinfeld's remarks about comedy being ruined by "the extreme left and PC crap, and people worrying so much about offending other people."

Her "Seinfeld" co-star faced backlash over remarks made during an appearance on David Remnick's "The New Yorker Radio Hour" in April. At the time, Seinfeld noted that while standup comedy is "not policed by anyone," things are very different with television comedy.

"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," he said.

Asked to respond in a recent interview with The New York Times, Louis-Dreyfus said that "being aware of certain sensitivities is not a bad thing."

"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 said.

Without naming her former co-star, Louis-Dreyfus said that complaints about political correctness in comedy are a "red flag."

"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," she said.

She later stated that political correctness "insofar as it equates to tolerance, is obviously fantastic," adding that she still reserves the right to "boo anyone who says anything that offends me, while also respecting their right to free speech."

"I think it's just good to be vigilant," she said.

Seinfeld has been engulfed in controversies lately. Last month, he sparked outrage after saying he was nostalgic for the "agreed-upon hierarchy" of American culture in the 1960s, adding that he misses "dominant masculinity."

"That is why people lean on the horn and drive in the crazy way that they drive," Seinfeld said on the "Honestly with Bari Weiss" podcast. "Because we have no sense of hierarchy. And as humans, we don't really feel comfortable like that."

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