Jason Alexander has apologised to Courtney Stodden for making a suggestive sketch with her when she was under age.
Stodden, now 31, achieved notoriety in 2011 when she married 51-year-old actor Doug Hutchison at the age of 16. She would make numerous reality TV appearances and develop a presence on social media, but has in recent years talked about the exploitation she felt she suffered both from her former partner and the entertainment industry.
She is currently advocating for California to pass AB1267, a bill that would ban child marriage by making the legal minimum age 18 years old. Discussing the bill, she referenced a sketch she participated in for the website Funny Or Die in 2012 co-starring Seinfeld actor Alexander on her Instagram account.
Posting a screenshot from the sketch, showing Alexander playing a Dr. Phil-like character holding a mobile phone to Stodden’s chest, she wrote: “I 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 ‘no signal’ in my head but ‘plenty of signal’ in my chest. Later in the sketch, he joked that when I turned 18 he’d like to take me behind the couch and ‘have his way’ with me. IMDb credits him as one of the writers of the episode.
She continued: “As an adult, that fact has become harder—not easier—for me to understand. I was a minor. I didn’t have the legal power to decide whether I wanted to participate. The contracts were signed by adults. The paycheck went to Doug. The production moved forward. I was the only child in the room. I felt so alone.”
“Looking back now, I don’t see comedy. I see a 17-year-old girl whose body became part of an adult joke. People still say, ‘You chose to be there.’ Legally, I couldn’t make those decisions for myself. That’s the point. I can’t 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’s exactly why I speak out today. Children deserve laws that protect them. They shouldn’t have to become adults before realizing the law should have protected them all along.”
In response to the post, Alexander said in a statement to Variety: “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 responded to the apology by telling the outlet: “When I first got word that he publicly apologised I was grateful because I think that’s the first step in change. At the same time, I think it would be even better if he put that into action, so I would urge Jason Alexander to support AB1267 and support what’s happening in California.”
Funny Or Die have since removed the sketch, and are yet to publicly comment on Stodden’s post.
For more help, advice or more information regarding sexual harassment, assault and rape in the UK, visit the Rape Crisis charity website. In the US, visit RAINN.
The post ‘Seinfeld’ star Jason Alexander apologises to Courtney Stodden for filming “inappropriate” sketch when she was 17 appeared first on NME.
