Seinfeld star Julia Louis-Dreyfus has slapped down the idea that "woke" attitudes towards comedy have damaged the industry in recent years.
Louis-Dreyfus is no stranger to starring in some of the world's biggest comedies over the years, starring opposite Jerry Seinfeld in the award-winning sitcom Seinfeld and leading HBO's Emmy-winning series, Veep.
Seinfeld himself hit headlines earlier this year when he claimed "extreme left and PC cr*p" had ruined today's comedic landscape
"It used to be you would go home at the end of the day, most people would go, ‘Oh, Cheers is on. Oh, M.A.S.H. is on, oh, Mary Tyler Moore is on. All in the Family is on.’ You just expected, there’ll be some funny stuff we can watch on TV tonight.
"Well, guess what? Where is it?" he fumed on the New Yorker Radio Hour. "This is the result of the extreme left and PC crap and people worrying so much about offending other people. 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."
His Seinfeld co-star Louis-Dreyfus has rejected that idea, however, stating this week that "wokeness" hasn't damaged comedy and that comedians can be "risky" and "more interesting" nowadays.
Jerry Seinfeld and Julia Louis-Dreyfus were two of the biggest stars in 90s comedy Seinfeld
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The 64-year-old said on the podcast On With Kara Swisher: "There’s a lot of talk about how comics can’t be funny now...
"I think that’s bulls**t. Physical comedy and intellectual comedy and political comedy, I think, has never been more interesting, because there’s so much to do.
"It’s a ripe time. Comedy is risky and it can be offensive, but that’s what makes it so enjoyable.
"I personally don’t buy the conceit that this is an impossible time to be funny. Maybe some people aren’t laughing at your jokes, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be made."
Louis-Dreyfus went on to address Seinfeld's criticism directly later in the interview.
She said in response to his remarks: "To have an antenna about sensitivities is not a bad thing."
Louis-Dreyfus isn't the only person to have argued against her former co-star's stance on the state of comedy today.
After Seinfeld launched his blistering assessment earlier this year, he came under from comedy fans who claimed his comedic style was never at danger of falling victim to cancel culture.
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Jerry Seinfeld is no stranger to slamming today's woke comedy era
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In response to his remarks, one fan pointed out: "Huge miss. Sitcoms exist and there may be a lack of that nowadays but it’s because of the format becoming dated among young viewers. Television formats have changed due to streaming and content now varying so much for different audiences."
A second weighed in: "The ironic thing is Jerry Seinfeld has never more than just mildly amusing even when at the very top of his game. And he's the safets comic on earth."
"Coming from the guy who was by far the most unfunny person on the show with his name on it," a third hit out.
However, Seinfeld did receive plenty of support at the time too, with one comedy fan applauding: "He’s absolutely right.
"90% of the best comedies of the past few decades couldn’t exist in the current environment."
And a second agreed: "Comedy is a dumpster fire now that nobody’s feefees can be hurt."
