"Seinfeld" may be a show about nothing, but the comedian who gave the sitcom
its name never seems to be afraid of starting something. From scandalous
relationships to baseball-related drama, Jerry Seinfeld certainly has a shady side.
Jerry Seinfeld considered himself a bit of a critic in 2014,
when he took to Twitter to offer a review of that year's biggest film based on a
children's building block. However, the funnyman seemed more interested
in figuring out its inspirations than giving it a thumbs up or thumbs down.
In fact, Seinfeld seemed to accuse "The Lego
Movie" of stealing one of his jokes. As he posted on Twitter —
"I think 'Lego Movie' stole my Superman has issues
with Green Lantern bit from Amex Seinfeld and Superman webisode, anyone else catch that?"
He later continued —
"I'm glad they did. It was a fun bit ... #legomymaterial."
"But I don't wanna be a Lego!"
Soon after, another comedian waded into the conversation to give his own unique
brand of reassurance. Ricky Gervais replied —
"I know how you feel. 'Schindler's List' stole a lot of my early stuff."
Seinfeld did later claim that he enjoyed "The Lego Movie" — but in
another expert bit of shade-throwing, he couldn't help himself from adding —
"A story would have been a nice added touch, though."
You probably won't ever hear Jerry Seinfeld blasting "Tik Tok," "We R Who We R," or any
other Kesha songs while getting coffee with his fellow comedians. In fact, Seinfeld publicly
snubbed the pop star several times before claiming that he had no idea who she was.
The drama happened in 2017 while the pair were both in attendance at the Kennedy Center for
the National Night of Laughter and Song. While Seinfeld was being interviewed by
94.7 Fresh FM DJ Tommy McFly, superfan Kesha popped in to ask for a hug. Seinfeld wasn't
having it, and the singer was equally unsuccessful on her next two attempts.
After Kesha finally got the hint, Seinfeld added further insult to injury by telling McFly —
"I don't know who that was."
The funnyman received some backlash from the pop star's fans,
but he remained unrepentant in a chat with Extra TV.
"I have to meet someone, say hello…"
"There you go. Before they—"
"I gotta start somewhere."
"Before you go in for the hug."
"Yeah."
"Friends" was the only sitcom of the 1990s that could rival "Seinfeld" as
the decade's biggest — and according to Seinfeld himself, he played a part in the show's success.
In a chat with The Daily Beast,
Lisa Kudrow recalled meeting Jerry Seinfeld at a Hollywood party, saying —
"I said, 'Hi,' and he said, 'You're welcome.' I said, 'Why, thank you... what?'"
Kudrow, who famously played the quirky guitarist Phoebe,
explained that the funnyman was referring to the fact that reruns of the first season
of "Friends" were being scheduled after ratings juggernaut "Seinfeld" that summer.
Indeed, the early adventures of Ross, Rachel, and company had gained strong,
if unspectacular ratings when it was initially following "Mad About You." But when "Friends"
was re-aired after the sixth season of "Seinfeld" on a schedule, its popularity
suddenly exploded — something which Kudrow is more than happy to acknowledge. As she put it —
"Not to take anything away from the writing on 'Friends,' or the cast,
or how good 'Friends' really was, but the first season our ratings were just fine."
Jerry Seinfeld sure likes taking credit for shows he hasn't actually contributed
anything to. Along with his claim that he was responsible for the success of the first season
of "Friends," the comedian also believes that he invented the concept of driving while talking.
In the trailer for the 2019 season of "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee," Seinfeld reeled off a
list of shows he argued were ripping him off and gave them a bit of not-so-constructive criticism.
"The only comment we would like to make is, 'If you're gonna knock us off, get it right!'"
While Seinfeld might have a point with the likes of "Comedians Watching Football With Friends" and
"Clergy in Cars Getting Coffee," another show he names inarguably got there first.
Indeed, "Carpool Karaoke" originated in a Comic Relief sketch featuring James Corden and George
Michael that first aired in 2011. Seinfeld's creation debuted on Crackle a year later, meaning
that "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee" isn't exactly the pioneer its leading man thinks it is.
"Sex and the City's" Kristin Davis may have gone on to forge one of the sitcom world's most iconic
quartets — but back in 1997, the prospect of being beamed into 38 million people's homes was a
daunting one for the young actor. And her co-star at the time didn't exactly put her mind at ease.
Davis first appeared on "Seinfeld" in the episode "The Pothole," playing Jerry's girlfriend Jenna.
Davis previously had to go through six different auditions just to get the small role, and was
understandably nervous when it came to the night of filming in front of a live studio audience. In
an interview with TODAY, she recalled how Seinfeld himself only made things worse, admitting —
"Right before action, Jerry leans over and he whispers, '38 million.' And I'm like,
'What?' And he says, '38 million people watching.' 'What are you doing to me?' I
was like, 'I can't function like this.' He just felt that was so
funny [...] So that's how Jerry found his fun. Scaring the guest stars to death."
Davis can't have been too scarred by the experience, though. Several months later,
she returned to the sitcom in the episode "The Butter Shave." She shared —
"I was just so excited to get to go back and be on the set. I was like, 'Yes.'"
Though Seinfeld may be enjoying a resurgence in recent years thanks to the internet,
the "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee" star still
doesn't have much time for those who find fame solely via the online world.
While appearing at an event for the streaming service Crackle in 2015,
Seinfeld was asked about his views on video-sharing platforms — and
it's safe to say he didn't mince his words. The funnyman said —
"The less [there is] the better. I don't want to see this crap. We have a giant garbage can called
YouTube for user-generated content. We're trying to generate a little higher level."
Seinfeld went on to argue that show business should only be for those who have a discernible
talent, and said that he still considers himself to be on the top of its pyramid. He also shared
that he believes that his own streaming content is far superior to anything else out there, arguing —
"[People don't] expect quality programming [online],
and we feel like we're ahead of a lot of places. You can be in the same world
as cat videos and still deliver a great demo for the advertiser."
Jerry Seinfeld inadvertently started an online guessing game in 2019 when
he called out a fellow comedian on an episode of "Comedians in Cars Getting
Coffee." The funnyman was interviewing Bridget Everett at the time — and when
she brought up a friend of hers, Seinfeld instantly revealed his dislike of him.
"You know, I'm good friends with (bleep), and that's his…"
"I don't like him. At all."
"Oh no!" "At all."
Seinfeld didn't hold back when he hurled insults at the mystery man,
who had clearly gotten under his skin.
"He wasn't funny."
"Yeah." "And that's why he didn't get anywhere."
"Yeah."
"Period."
"This feels— I feel very tense right now."
"He sucked!"
Internet sleuths did their thing, and deduced that the man who'd incurred
Seinfeld's wrath was actually Bobcat Goldthwait. Apparently,
their beef stems from way back in 1994 when Goldthwait appeared on "The Arsenio Hall Show,"
where the subversive comic described Seinfeld in a not-so-flattering way.
"Oh, he's the devil. He's a spooky, weird Scientologist guy banging teenage girls."
Jerry Seinfeld and Jessica Sklar appear to have one of the more stable marriages in Hollywood,
but their beginnings were much more scandalous. In fact, Sklar had only
just walked down the aisle with someone else when she began falling for the funnyman.
The pair first met in 1998 at Manhattan's Reebok Sports Club, where Sklar was working
out. Seinfeld was instantly smitten and asked her out, apparently unaware that she'd only just
gotten back from her honeymoon with then-husband Eric Nederlander. Sklar initially rebuffed his
advances, but the pair continued to stay in touch. Eventually, she came clean about her married life.
Within two months, Sklar filed for divorce, describing her and Nederlander's marriage as
"irreparably broken." Soon after, she began publicly dating Seinfeld. Understandably,
Nederlander was furious: he told the New York Post —
"I was manipulated, misled, and completely caught off guard by Jessica's infidelity.
Jerry and Jessica have no respect for decent values. They deserve each other."
Along with his advances towards a newly-married woman, Jerry Seinfeld's
questionable relationship history also involves him dating a 17-year-old when
he was fast approaching the age of 40. In 1993, the funnyman began dating Shoshanna Lonstein,
a teenager 21 years his junior, after they met in Central Park.
Seinfeld insists that their relationship didn't turn sexual until a year later, and acted rather
defensive when the subject was brought up during a chat with People. As he put it —
"I am not an idiot. Shoshanna is a person, not an age. She is extremely bright. She's funny,
sharp, very alert. We just get along. You can hear the click."
Seinfeld went on to reveal that the pair nearly married,
but the fact that Lonstein wanted to carve out her own career appeared to drive a wedge between them.
Jerry Seinfeld's fragile ego appeared to take a bit of a hit in 2007 when he appeared on "Larry
King Live." The drama began when the host simply asked for clarification about his
sitcom's ending. King wasn't totally sure whether "Seinfeld" had been canceled or if its creator had
simply decided to wrap it up — and the comedian took it personally. He asked the CNN host —
"You think I got canceled? Are you under the impression that I
got canceled? I thought that was pretty well documented."
Seinfeld was so blatantly defensive about the whole thing that King was
forced to ask whether he'd upset him. That just seemed to upset him even more.
"Don't most shows go down a little?" "Most people do also."
It made for a seemingly heated moment — but following King's death in 2021, Seinfeld
insisted on Twitter that his interview 14 years earlier had only been a case of fooling around.
Jerry Seinfeld proved that he certainly wasn't one of Lady Gaga's Little Monsters in 2010 when
he called her out for her behavior at a baseball game. The singer had grabbed headlines for
stripping down to her bikini top and bottoms and flipping photographers the bird during a
game between the New York Mets and San Diego Padres at Citi Field — and the funnyman was
less than impressed by this display. Speaking to WFAN radio soon afterward, Seinfeld said —
"This woman is a jerk. I hate her. I can't believe they put her in my box, which I paid for."
The comic was referring to the fact that Gaga was moved from her front-row seat to
a corporate box owned by Seinfeld after she complained about the nearby press. He added —
"You give people the finger and you get upgraded? Is that the world we're living in now?"
The sitcom legend did acknowledge that the Grammy-winning singer was talented,
but still couldn't understand why she needed to resort to such tactics. As he put it —
"I'm not one of these all-publicity-is-good
people. People talk about you need exposure — you could die of exposure."
Hell hath no fury like a New York Mets fan scorned, and Jerry Seinfeld isn't afraid to
blame all sorts of factors when his beloved team loses a game. In one notable instance,
Seinfeld didn't take his anger out on the players on the field,
but rather on the Australian musician who'd performed their entrance music.
After the Mets suffered a loss of form that surrendered their once-impressive lead in the
National League East in 2022, Seinfeld took to Twitter to blame Timmy Trumpet, the man
who'd only recently delivered a live rendition of Edwin Diaz's walkout anthem. He angrily posted —
"I blame that stupid Trumpet performance. Celebrating in
season. We haven't won anything yet. Bad mojo."
The disgruntled comic then served up an even greater insult: he compared Trumpet to the
early 2000s' most annoyingly infectious Barbadian trio. Referring to the year in
which the Mets lost to their rivals the New York Yankees, Seinfeld continued —
"Same as when [the] Baja Men showed up to play
"Who Let [the] Dogs Out" in 2000 WS. Series ended right there."