Jerry Seinfeld Keeps Saying Controversial Stuff

His latest? He misses 'dominant masculinity'
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted May 31, 2024 4:00 AM CDT
Jerry Seinfeld Keeps Saying Controversial Things
Jessica Seinfeld, left, and Jerry Seinfeld attend the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion" exhibition on Monday, May 6, 2024, in New York.   (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Jerry Seinfeld's still talking, and the things he's saying are still making headlines. The latest? The 70-year-old comedian longs for the good old days of society having an established hierarchy (and "real men"). His comments came during an appearance on the Honestly With Bari Weiss podcast, People and TMZ report.

  • How it started: Seinfeld was discussing his nostalgia for the 1960s, when he grew up. The "key element" of that time, he mused, was "an agreed-upon hierarchy, which I think is absolutely vaporized in today's moment." He hypothesized, "I think that is why people lean on the horn and drive in the crazy way that they drive, because we have no sense of hierarchy. And as humans, we don't really feel comfortable like that. If you want to talk about nostalgia, that is part of what makes that moment attractive looking back."

  • How men and masculinity fit in: "You can go all the way down the line—that's a real man—I want to be like that someday. Well, no. I never really grew up," Seinfeld said after listing some people he considers "real" men: John F. Kennedy, Muhammad Ali, Sean Connery, and sports broadcaster Howard Cosell. "I mean, you don't want to, as a comedian, because it's a childish pursuit, but I miss a dominant masculinity. Yeah, I get the [toxic masculinity issue] but still, I like a real man."
  • How Hugh Grant fits in: Seinfeld was speaking about his new movie, Unfrosted, at the time, since it's set in the 1960s. Grant stars alongside Seinfeld in it, and apparently Seinfeld also considers him a real man. "He knows how to dress. He knows how to talk. He's charming. He has stories. He's comfortable at dinner parties, and knows how to get a drink. You know what I mean? That stuff."
(More Jerry Seinfeld stories.)

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