Jerry Seinfeld is facing backlash online after saying he missed the “dominant masculinity” of 1960s America.
Tuesday, the comedian appeared on the Honestly With Bari Weiss podcast to promote his latest film, Unfrosted. Set in 1960s Michigan, the movie is loosely based on the real-life dispute between Pop-Tarts and Kellogg’s to create a new favorite breakfast food.
Weiss felt Unfrosted represented a “sense of one conversation, a common culture.” Seinfeld—who directed and starred in the film—agreed.
“That’s part of what makes that moment attractive looking back,” the 70-year-old said. He added: “I always wanted to be a real man. I never made it, [but] in that era, it was JFK. It was Muhammad Ali. It was Sean Connery, Howard Cosell. You can go all the way down there. That’s a real man.”
“I miss a dominant masculinity,” Seinfeld added. “Yeah, I get the toxic thing. But still, I like a real man.”
Watch the interview below:
In April, the sitcom star sparked a similar uproar online following an interview with The New Yorker, in which he criticized the “extreme left” for what he saw as excessive political correctness, dubbing it “PC crap.”
Seinfeld’s interview with Weiss has gone viral, causing outrage on social media. One user on X, formerly Twitter, wrote, “It’s time someone took the mic away from Jerry.”
“What a weird guy to bring this up,” another user added.
“He’s really embodying the ‘old man shakes fist at clouds’ persona now,” a commenter wrote.
“Real men don’t feel the need to be dominant or say things like this,” another commented. “They are secure in their masculinity.”
Other users supported Seinfeld’s remarks, with one writing, “I stand with Jerry.”
“Jerry is spot on,” another said.
Some commenters felt the comedian’s remarks had been taken out of context.
Author Art Tavana wrote: “He was mostly unserious and nostalgia-baiting. I think people just want to hate Jerry right now, and his choice to go on a political podcast isn’t helping, but there you go; a bad PR move for a comedian who was (for a long time) mostly apolitical.”
In the New Yorker interview, Seinfeld said excessive political correctness had led to a decline in the quality and availability of comedic TV shows.
“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,” Seinfeld said.
While conservative pundits and media outlets praised the 1990s icon for addressing what they saw as a significant cultural issue, others criticized Seinfeld for being out of touch.
Many critics felt his comments overlooked external factors affecting the entertainment industry—including the recent writers’ strike and the rise in streaming—as well as issues such as systematic racism and misogyny that “woke” diversity and inclusion policies attempt to fight.
Discover more from Next Gen News
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.