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