{"id":819151,"date":"2026-07-23T17:51:19","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T17:51:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/819151\/"},"modified":"2026-07-23T17:51:19","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T17:51:19","slug":"jason-alexander-seinfeld-star-apologises-to-courtney-stodden-over-inappropriate-act-when-she-was-a-minor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/819151\/","title":{"rendered":"Jason Alexander: Seinfeld star apologises to Courtney Stodden over \u2018inappropriate\u2019 act when she was a minor"},"content":{"rendered":"

Seinfeld star Jason Alexander has issued a public apology to Courtney Stodden over an \u201cinappropriate\u201d act that occurred on screen when she was just 17.<\/p>\n

In 2012, the comedy actor, 66, wrote and appeared in a Funny or Die sketch in which he allegedly rubbed a mobile phone on Stodden\u2019s breasts.<\/p>\n

\u201cLooking 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,\u201d Alexander said in a statement shared with The Hollywood Reporter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut more importantly, I am deeply sorry for any harm or distress it has caused Ms. Stodden. I offer her my sincerest apologies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Acknowledging the statement, Stodden \u2014 now 31 \u2014 felt he should have done more to express his contrition.<\/p>\n

She suggested further steps the Hollywood veteran could take to affect real change and educate others on such behaviour.<\/p>\n

\"USCamera IconUS actor Jason Alexander. Credit: JS DP NT\/AAPIMAGE<\/p>\n

\u201cI appreciate Jason Alexander\u2019s public apology. People keep asking if he\u2019s apologised privately, and he hasn\u2019t. A private apology would be meaningful, but meaningful action would be even more powerful,\u201d she told the publication.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf he truly regrets what happened, I\u2019d invite him to support Unchained at Last and the fight to end child marriage through AB 1267.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s how we turn accountability into lasting change.\u201d<\/p>\n

The backlash came after Stodden shared a photo from the sketch on Instagram earlier this week.<\/p>\n

It depicts the then-minor wearing a red bikini, with the actor \u2014 most famous for his TV role as George Constanza \u2014 donning a suit and wig while encroaching on Stodden\u2019s personal space.<\/p>\n

She recounted the day on set and called out Alexander\u2019s actions.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was 17 years old in this photo. The older I get, the more impossible this is to understand. During this comedy sketch, Jason Alexander repeatedly rubbed his phone across my breasts while saying there was \u2018no signal\u2019 in my head but \u2018plenty of signal\u2019 in my chest,\u201d she began.<\/p>\n

\u201cLater in the sketch, he joked that when I turned 18 he\u2019d like to take me behind the couch and \u2018have his way\u2019 with me. IMDb credits him as one of the writers of the episode. As an adult, that fact has become harder \u2014 not easier \u2014 for me to understand.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was a minor. I didn\u2019t have the legal power to decide whether I wanted to participate. The contracts were signed by adults. The paycheck went to (Stodden\u2019s then-husband) Doug. The production moved forward. I was the only child in the room. I felt so alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"CourtneyCamera IconCourtney Stodden has acknowledged Jason Alexander’s apology. Credit: Courtney Stodden\/IG\/IG<\/p>\n

Stodden then asked how so many adults allowed the behaviour to take place, and encouraged incumbent lawmakers to act.<\/p>\n

\u201cLooking back now, I don\u2019t see comedy. I see a 17-year-old girl whose body became part of an adult joke. People still say, \u2018You chose to be there.\u2019 Legally, I couldn\u2019t make those decisions for myself. That\u2019s the point,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t change what happened to me but I can ask myself: How did so many adults look at a minor and decide this was acceptable? That\u2019s exactly why I speak out today. Children deserve laws that protect them. They shouldn\u2019t have to become adults before realising the law should have protected them all along.<\/p>\n

The actress and producer inspired the 2025 film I Was a Child Bride: The Courtney Stodden Story.<\/p>\n

Based on a true story, it follows the life of Stodden who, at 16, married 51-year-old actor Doug Hutchinson.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Seinfeld star Jason Alexander has issued a public apology to Courtney Stodden over an \u201cinappropriate\u201d act that occurred…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":819152,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[64,63,10466,134,427],"class_list":["post-819151","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-celebrity-gossip","tag-entertainment","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/819151","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=819151"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/819151\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/819152"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=819151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=819151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=819151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}