Jason Alexander, best known for playing George Costanza in Seinfeld, has apologised to reality star Courtney Stodden for a comedy sketch they filmed together in 2012, when she was 17. The sketch, produced by Funny or Die, parodied daytime talk shows such as Dr Phil. In it, Alexander rubbed a mobile phone on Stodden's breasts, saying the area had "plenty of signal" while her head had none. Later, he joked that when she turned 18 he would "have his way" with her behind a couch.
Stodden, now 31, reposted the clip earlier this week and questioned it. Writing on Instagram, she said: "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 'no signal' in my head but 'plenty of signal' in my chest." She noted that Alexander was credited as one of the writers, adding: "Looking back now, I don't see comedy. I see a 17-year-old girl whose body became part of an adult joke. I was a minor. I didn't have the legal power to decide whether I wanted to participate... I was the only child in the room. I felt so alone."
“Jason Alexander apologises to Courtney Stodden for 2012 sketch in which he rubbed phone on her breasts when she was 17.”
In a statement issued to US publications including Variety, Alexander said: "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. But more importantly, I am deeply sorry for any harm or distress it has caused Ms Stodden. I offer her my sincerest apologies."
Stodden told the Hollywood Reporter she "appreciated" the apology but noted that Alexander had not apologised privately. "A private apology would be meaningful," she said.
Stodden is now campaigning for California to pass a bill that would ban child marriage by making the legal minimum age 18. She married 51-year-old actor Doug Hutchison in 2011, when she was 16, with parental permission. They divorced in 2020. Marrying at 16 or 17 remains legal in 33 US states with parental consent or a judicial waiver; it was legal in every state until 2018.
The apology comes as Stodden continues to reflect on her treatment as a minor in the entertainment industry. She has said she chose to speak out after asking herself: "How did so many adults look at a minor and decide this was acceptable?"