During rounds of press for her role in A24's "Tuesday" — out on June 14 — Julia Louis-Dreyfus has been noticeably mum on her "Seinfeld" co-star's recent batch of controversial comments regarding the ways in which being politically correct does or doesn't harm creative output. But, as evidenced in a recent interview with The New York Times, she clearly wants to set herself apart from them.
Whereas Jerry Seinfeld spent the bulk of his "Unfrosted" press tour ranting about "extreme left and P.C. c**p" and pining for the return of "dominant masculinity," Dreyfus makes a point to clarify that "political correctness, insofar as it equates to tolerance, is obviously fantastic," as stated to NYT. And while she shares Jerry's view that their wildly popular sitcom would likely not fly today, it's for a much different reason.
In an April interview with US Magazine, Jerry gave examples of how jokes from "Seinfeld" would not be allowed now because they are not politically correct. But Dreyfus flips this in her interview, focusing blame on the consolidation of money and power as "the true threat to art and the creation of art."
"When 'Seinfeld,' was made, it was really unlike anything that was on at the time," she says. "It was just a bunch of losers hanging out. So I would say one main reason it wouldn’t be made now is because it’s hard to get anything different recognized."
When asked to weigh-in on her co-star's comments, she does so briefly, but expressly, saying, "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. And I think to have an antenna about sensitivities is not a bad thing. It doesn’t mean that all comedy goes out the window as a result. 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. I believe being aware of certain sensitivities is not a bad thing. I don’t know how else to say it."
