It took fourteen and a half years, but Jason Alexander finally apologized.
On Wednesday, the “Seinfeld” actor issued a public apology to Courtney Stodden for a “comedy” sketch the two filmed together wherein Alexander, who was 52 at the time, fondled a 17-year-old Stodden’s breasts with a cell phone and said that when she turned 18, he would take her behind the couch and have his way with her.
“Looking back at the comedy sketch in which Ms. Stodden and I participated in 2012, I completely agree that it was inappropriate and I truly regret it,” Alexander said in a statement to Variety. “But more importantly, I am deeply sorry for any harm or distress it has caused Ms. Stodden. I offer her my sincerest apologies.”
The sketch, a parody of “Dr. Phil” dubbed “The Donny Clay Show” with Alexander playing a creepy talk-show host, was released in Jan. 2012 on the Funny or Die website and its YouTube channel (it has since been taken down). Stodden is featured in the video alongside Doug Hutchison, a journeyman actor who notoriously married her in 2011 when he was 51 and she only 16. At the time, the media mainly treated Stodden as a punchline while failing to hold Hutchison accountable for his predation. Alexander gave his apology after Stodden, who is now 31 and divorced from Hutchison, made an Instagram post recounting how “alone” and exploited she felt making that video.
