Jerry Seinfeld likened the Free Palestine movement to the Ku Klux Klan — even saying those who use the phrase “Free Palestine” are worse than the white supremacist group — at a student event at Duke University meant to honor hostages who are being held in Gaza.

Seinfeld spoke at the school in Durham, North Carolina, to introduce a former Israeli hostage, Omer Shem Tov, when he made the remarks, according to the university’s student newspaper, The Duke Chronicle. He reportedly started by saying, in reference to the Free Palestine activist movement, “Just say you don’t like Jews.”

“By saying ‘Free Palestine,’ you’re not admitting what you really think. So it’s actually — compared to the Ku Klux Klan, I’m actually thinking the Klan is actually a little better here, because they can come right out and say, ‘We don’t like Blacks, we don’t like Jews.’ Okay, that’s honest,'" the Chronicle reported Seinfeld said.

  • AlexLost@lemmy.world
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    1 hour ago

    Judaism has absolutely nothing to do with the genocide of a powerless nation. It was taken away from them by Western powers and the state of Israel was installed and ever since has been slowly expanding into Palestinian territory. I have nothing against Jewish people, but I think the state of Israel should be bombed out of existence for their inhuman relations with the rest of the world. They are even worse for hiding behind past atrocities while commiting their own. Go to hell Seinfeld, you need to go back to being about nothing, that’s all your words are worth.

  • BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today
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    2 hours ago

    The old “If you don’t support our atrocities, you’re a racist” strategy.

    It’s a sibling to the Bush era “If you don’t support our war crimes, you’re a terrorist.”

    People with Critical Thinking Skills don’t respond to such nonsense. Anyone who does, is outing themselves as a gullible fool.

    • BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today
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      2 hours ago

      He also met his current wife on cruise, while she was on her honeymoon.

      Imagine that? She gets married, goes on her honeymoon, and some rich and famous comedian notices her, and she just dumps her new husband for the rich guy, proving what a piece of shit she is. It probably didn’t feel like it at the time, but her ex-husband dodged a giant bullet.

  • Treetrimmer@sh.itjust.works
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    3 hours ago

    I think celebrities past their prime should get the Brave New World treatment: once they’ve entertained us and lived the high life, they should get turned into fertilizer.

  • But_my_mom_says_im_cool@lemmy.world
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    3 hours ago

    Completely irrelevant to this whole thing, i was watching him in a newer talk show interview and he was doing one of his comedy bits and it was all “men are like this, and women are like this” and it wasn’t even offensive, it was just… not good. Like it’s not funny. The joke doesn’t even go anywhere. There’s a reason why that style of comedy is left in the 90s, it just doesn’t apply anymore

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    4 hours ago

    It’s when they start saying nonsensical shit like this that you got to look up someone’s age. Seinfeld is 71 and saying stupid things. Go to bed gramps.

  • answersplease77@lemmy.world
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    4 hours ago

    Why is it if you were jewish born any where in the world, you get to kill and steal the land of other people? When ISIS did exactly that, the whole world including muslims fought them to non-existance, meanwhile we have “jews” like Jerey fuckfield saying Zionism is Judaism and shamelessly advocating for a colonizing ethnostate genocidal aparthied.

  • potoooooooo ☑️@lemmy.world
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    6 hours ago

    He’s like the forerunner of all the conservative Joe Rogan douches who have made it so that I can no longer publicly say I like stand-up comedy anymore.

    They’ve literally ruined something fucking sacred.

    • bystander@lemmy.ca
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      3 hours ago

      Hmm, I’m not sure that’s an issue. Do you automatically think that people think Joe Rogan or Seinfeld when they think of standup comedy? That’s barely what they do. I’m sure most people are neutral or maybe like the same comedians as you. Don’t overthink it.

      Whenever I’ve brought it up as something I enjoyed, people will ask who I like and we have a fun conversation about it.

      • potoooooooo ☑️@lemmy.world
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        45 minutes ago

        The number of right-leaning, man-o-sphere “stand-up comedians” has exploded such that I don’t feel comfortable saying I’m into it on, let’s say, a first date, without heavily contextualizing/clarifying.

    • Treetrimmer@sh.itjust.works
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      3 hours ago

      Joe Rogan is probably one of the worst standup comics in modern history, I have no idea how he was ever successful at it.

  • qualia@lemmy.world
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    6 hours ago

    Seinfeld was later quoted as being critical of Native Americans protesting imperialism with his retort of: “Just admit you hate Europeans!”

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    9 hours ago

    Really surprised how many people are just okay with straight up murder. Nazis and the Jews, Isreal and children, Christians and the LGBT, Russia and civilians, etc. Did everyone just take crazy pills? Just leave people the fuck alone.