Jerry Seinfeld recently came to the defense of fellow actor-comedian Kevin Hart who stepped down from hosting this year’s Oscar’s after facing an uproar over several-years-old “anti-gay” tweets that he had already addressed in the past.
Seinfeld in an interview with NBC’s “Sunday TODAY” airing this Sunday said that Hart isn’t the one “who got screwed” but that the Academy Awards is the one that lost out big time.
“Kevin is in a position because he’s a brilliant comedian to kind of decide what he wants to do,” he said. “He doesn’t have to step down, but he can.”
“Look who got screwed in that deal,” Seinfeld continued. “I think Kevin’s gonna be fine, but find another Kevin Hart, that’s not so easy. He’s a brilliant guy with a movie career.”
He went on to say that comedians are often “expected to be the most agile in terms of how we think and construct our thoughts and what comes out of our mouths."
Seinfeld explained that when he started out, "there were dirty comedians" who were later forced to change up their routines if they wanted to be on live television. He added that new rules come up as time goes on and comedians adapt accordingly.
“We have been navigating these slalom gates forever,” he said, making a skiing reference. “So that's our thing. It’s like Lindsay Vonn. Wherever you put the gates, I’m gonna make them. That’s the gig.”