Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Santiago Felipe/Getty Images
Julia Louis-Dreyfus has offered her opinion on former co-star Jerry Seinfeld’s recent comments criticizing political correctness in comedy.
“I don’t think it’s a bad thing to be sensitive about things,” he said. Veep Star is The New York Times Currently appearing interview“That doesn’t mean all comedy is ruined. When I hear people start complaining about political correctness, I understand people rebel against it, but to me it’s a red flag, because it can mean something else. I believe being aware of certain sensitivities is not a bad thing. I don’t know how else to say it.”
Louis-Dreyfus played the role of Elaine. Seinfeldis a popular sitcom created by Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David. In recent months, the former of the two creators has made headlines saying that TV comedy is suffering because of “far-left and politically correct trash and people who are overly concerned about offending other people.”
As part of interview, The New York Times In a phone call to Louis-Dreyfus 11 days after I first asked her about the matter, she elaborated further.
“Political correctness is obviously fine as long as it equates to tolerance,” she said. “And of course I reserve the right to boo people if they say something that offends me, but at the same time I respect their right to free speech, right? But I think the bigger issue, and the real threat to art and art creation, is the consolidation of money and power. I think all of this siloing of studios and outlets and streamers and distributors is not good for creative voices. That’s what I mean in terms of threats to the arts.”
When asked if new sensibilities would make comedy better, the actress replied, “I can’t judge whether it’s better or not. I just know that the lens through which we create art today — and this applies not only to comedy but also to drama — is a different lens. It really is. Even classically great, indisputably great films of the past are full of attitudes that would not be acceptable today. So I think it’s good to be vigilant.”
