Julia Louis-Dreyfus dismisses claim ‘wokeness’ ruined comedy: ‘That’s bulls***’

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Kelly Rissman

US News Reporter

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Julia Louis-Dreyfus has reiterated her position on political correctness in comedy, dismissing any talk of the humour suffering as “bulls***”.

In a new interview, she pushed back against the notion that comedy is impossible to do now because of ”wokeness”, saying the genre has always been “risky” and is “more interesting” today.

“There’s a lot of talk about how comics can’t be funny now,” the Emmy winner said on the podcast On With Kara Swisher.

“I think that’s bulls***. Physical comedy and intellectual comedy and political comedy, I think, has never been more interesting, because there’s so much to do.

“It’s a ripe time. Comedy is risky and it can be offensive, but that’s what makes it so enjoyable.

“I personally don’t buy the conceit that this is an impossible time to be funny. Maybe some people aren’t laughing at your jokes, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be made.”

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The Veep star recently said it was a “red flag” when comedians complained about political correctness.

She was responding to Seinfeld co-star Jerry Seinfeld’s interview with The New Yorker in April in which he said there was no “funny stuff” to watch on television because of the “extreme left and PC crap, and people worrying so much about offending other people”.

“To have an antenna about sensitivities is not a bad thing,” Louis-Dreyfus said when asked about Seinfeld’s comments.

“It doesn’t mean that all comedy goes out the window as a result. When I hear people starting to complain about political correctness — and I understand why people might push back on it — but to me that’s a red flag, because it sometimes means something else.”