What did Jerry Seinfeld say about masculinity? Comedian calls for return of hierarchy, expresses wanting to be a 'real man' 

Jerry Seinfeld recently opened up about masculinity and critics in his most recent Honestly With Bari Weiss podcast. In the episode that aired on Tuesday, the Seinfeld actor shared that he missed the “dominant masculinity” that took over American culture in the 1960s. He also shared that negative reviews did not affect him as much as one might think.

While promoting his latest Netflix film, Unfrosted, a feature-length movie that depicts a fictionalized origin story of the Pop-Tart, the actor boldly claimed that he misses having a sense of hierarchy, which has now been “absolutely vaporized.” The comedian stated:

“Which is why people lean on the horn and drive in the crazy way that they drive. Because we have no sense of hierarchy. And as humans, we don’t really feel comfortable like that.”

Jerry Seinfeld then reminisced about the American way of living in the 1960s, which he claimed was “attractive” when looked back upon.

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“I always wanted to be a real man” - Jerry Seinfeld touches upon masculinity in podcast

While claiming that Unfrosted depicted “a sense of one conversation, a common culture,” the 70-year-old actor said:

“I always wanted to be a real man. I never made it, [but] in that era, it was JFK. It was Mohammed Ali. It was Sean Connery, Howard Cosell .. that’s a real man.”

The Brooklyn, New York-native then admitted:

“Yeah, I get the toxic thing, but I still like a real man.”

While describing what masculinity meant for him, Jerry Seinfeld explained that the style of the 1960s and its movements depicted true manhood. While taking Hugh Grant as an example, the actor explained:

“He felt like one of those guys I wanted to be. He knows how to dress, he knows how to talk, he’s charming, he has stories, he’s comfortable at dinner parties, he knows how to get a drink… I love those movements in style.”

During the podcast episode, the Bee Movie actor also explained that he remains unaffected by critics. This comes after Unfrosted boasted just 43% on Rotten Tomatoes after amassing only 120 reviews.

Addressing the same, Jerry Seinfeld stated that he never intended to make a movie that would be liked by everybody. He also added:

“The only thing I want to read are the absolute worst reviews the movie received because there is nothing funnier to me than people complaining that [they] didn’t laugh. They wanted to laugh. I relate to it. I get it. I think it’s funny that you hated it because you wanted to laugh and you didn’t laugh.”

The actor explained that he is able to have thick skin when it comes to reviews due to his experience in stand-up comedy, where he was “getting the laughs and getting the money and getting the hell out of there.”

In the interview, Jerry Seinfeld also revealed that the filming for Unfrosted, which starred Melissa McCarthy, Amy Schumer, and Jim Gaffigan, started during the COVID-19 pandemic because he “couldn’t take the sad faces.”

The actor added that he believed that comedians could not “fix the world” but could make people happy, even if it was “just a few minutes.”

The writer-actor also touched upon the competition in the comedy industry, stating that it is “the most self-correcting eco-system.” He also compared the same to the NFL, where he stated that it was easy for a sportsman to get noticed when he did not belong on the field.

Unfrosted is now available on Netflix.