I’ve never watched Seinfeld but I know a lot of people love it. One of those people who really loves it is Kesha. Watching Seinfeld on flights helped her manage her fear of flying. When she met Jerry Seinfeld at a charity event in 2017, she asked to hug him and he said no, and the whole moment went viral. It was super awkward because she asked him three times! I’m not a hugger so I get where Jerry was coming from. Now Kesha has reflected on that moment again in a podcast interview with Tom Scharpling. The rejection had a big effect on Kesha.
Kesha called her infamous Jerry Seinfeld snub the “saddest moment of my life” in a new interview.
In conversation with Tom Scharpling on his The Best Show podcast, Kesha revisited the viral 2017 snub, wherein Seinfeld declined a hug from the pop star not once but twice at an event at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. “Do you want to know the whole story? It’s really sad,” Kesha said. “You’re going to get lots of clicks after this because I don’t think I’ve ever told the whole story.”
“So I learned TM from David Lynch, the David Lynch Foundation,” she said, referencing transcendental meditation. “Love meditating, so he was like, ‘Could you do an event that’s a charity event?’ I was in the middle of tour. I was exhausted, but I really love David Lynch and I heard that Jerry Seinfeld was going to be there.”
Seinfeld’s eponymous sitcom helped her navigate tough flights, she said. “I used to take my computer, when there was the CD, and I’d carry it around the world internationally, the little DVDs. When it got bumpy on planes, I’d pop in Seinfeld and I’d be like, “Everything’s okay in the world.'”
At the charity event, “I got really excited because he brings me peace and love and all things good in the universe,” Kesha said. “And then he didn’t hug me in front of cameras. And it was the most depressing, and hilarious, but also so sad, it was like the saddest moment of my life.”
Do I think calling it “the saddest moment” of her life is a little exaggerated? Possibly. I completely get that Kesha was just trying to offer Jerry a token of appreciation and gratitude, and she felt rejected. For that to happen in front of the whole world would be embarrassing. I also get why Jerry declined a hug from someone he did not know. From the little I know of him, he doesn’t seem like a warm-fuzzy guy. This is an example of why (in my opinion) you should never meet your idols. Not just because they’ll disappoint you, but also because you might be overwhelmed by the experience and act in a way that you never normally would. If I met Dolly Parton I’m sure I would spontaneously erupt into sobs, because I love her so much and her work is so meaningful to me. So I don’t think I should meet her because I couldn’t handle it. I hope Kesha doesn’t let this get to her too much. We’ve all embarrassed ourselves, and in the scheme of things, if Jerry Seinfeld refusing a hug from you is your most embarrassing moment? That’s not so bad.
I don’t like to be touched except by people I know extremely well. I understand how it must have been embarrassing for her, but when he said no the first time she should have respected that. He gets to say no to being touched just like any woman does, and he’s not in the wrong at all for not wanting a hug. Consent matters for everyone.
@MrsBanjo You are so right!
Yep!
Agree 100%.
Jerry has the right not to hug people. It would be nice if he were nice about it, but you have no right for a hug or a kiss or anything else from anyone. I feel like maybe he is germ-phobic? And I don’t think he wants to set the precedent for everyone thinking he is a hugger – can you imagine how many hugs a day people would demand? He’s an entertainer, geez, let let be enough.
He had a whole episode in hating saying hi to people so of course he would hate hugging strangers. He doesn’t owe strangers hugs.
JFC, she interrupted him in the middle of an interview, that action alone would be extremely off-putting. He probably didn’t even know who she was (or cared).
I don’t think anyone should be forced to hug anyone, but I can’t stand Jerry Seinfeld. He has this cold stare, cold persona. He, Ellen and Dax Shepard all have a weird cold stare.
Your instincts are correct. Let’s not forget he “dated” a 17 year old when he was 40. There are pictures of him picking her up from high school. He got better PR after that, but I’m sure he still does it. He’s gross.
@laura – I remember his teenage gf – yuck.
And I remember his tv show too: wealthy white people living in a Friends/Woody Allen NYC with very few POC and no poor people. Also yuck.
That said, I do agree that no one should be touched against their wishes.
Absolutely. He’s always been an ahole.
I also feel like it’s a tad different in that it’s two people from the entertainment industry and that happens all the time in Hollywood–industry types forced to hug each other out of politeness. It’s not like she’s some crazed, obsessed fan. That being said, he does have the right to say no–his body, his personal boundaries.
I’m with you on this.
How weird and self-centered. The worst moment of her life is when she couldn’t invade someone’s personal space? And she’s been stewing about it for 6 years?
That got me. This was the saddest moment? And she thinks it’s going to get a lot of clicks for telling the backstory? No, it will get a lot of clicks because she sounds super entitled and presumptuous. (And I don’t like JS at all, not even a tiny bit.)
Com’on, let’s be reasonable. She was clearly joking by exaggerating about this being the saddest moment of her life. (This is a woman who has spoken openly about her rape and rapist. She’s had a lot of sadness to deal with that’s much bigger than this.)
That’s why I said it was weird.
Exaggeration is actually very common and not weird at all.
“Do you want to know the whole story? Because it’s really sad”
Yes Kesha- you repeatedly asking to touch someone in a way they have made clear is unwelcome IS really sad! This doesn’t reflect well on HER and she doesn’t even realize it!
I’m a hugger too, but I learned to ask, ONCE!, and respect the other person’s choice gracefully!!!
I think it’s time to move on from this hug business. I don’t think it’s the end of the world. I’m sure there will be other things that she will feel the same way about. Not everyone likes to hug people they don’t know.
I think Dolly Parton wouldn’t mind though and give you a big hug if that happened
Yep!!
That is EXACTLY what Dolly would do, and I know from personal experience! A few years ago, my now-husband and I celebrated our first (dating) anniversary at her 50-year Grand Ole Opry anniversary, and a high school friend of his pulled some strings and arranged for a very brief visit backstage before the show. In retrospect, I’d almost say that we ambushed her, but she was still just as amazingly sweet and gracious as you’d expect. I was rambling about how I’d been a fan my whole life, and she inspired me to play guitar, and as a little girl I’d named 2 of my dogs Dolly and Jolene even though Dolly was a boy…and then I just started crying. She gave me a huge hug and said something like, “well you followed my example pretty good — you figured out that fake eyelashes don’t run when you cry!” And then I died. I mean, one of the reasons I decided never to have kids is that even their birth would pale in comparison to that moment. 🤣🤣
That is so sweet!
He wasn’t even rude about. Just matter of fact.
I’m sure the “saddest moment” is hyperbole, we all know she’s been through some tough stuff, and she’s just chatting on a podcast.
That said, I was on Jerry’s side for this one, no one should feel forced to hug or touch people they don’t know or don’t want to touch. I’m not a big hugger myself except with family and close friends. It was ok for her to ask, and it was ok for him to say no. She should have accepted his no.
We discuss the right of women not to have our bodies invaded by strangers all the time. Whether it’s pg women being touched, women being groped or assaulted, or even being told to smile (I loathed that). Why don’t men get the same courtesy? She sounds self absorbed and childish.
Ok so my initial reaction was ‘she needs more life if this is the saddest thing that’s happened’ but reading the story I just think ‘awww’. No-one’s least of all her saying that JS wasn’t perfectly entitled to turn down a hug. I’m certainly not big on them when meeting people for the first time. But this was more her personal reaction to it. I doubt it’s a case of her needing to let it go but we all have things that stay with us and don’t ever think about except when something specific reminds us of it. And doubly so when it involves meeting your idol and for no fault of theirs felt a little let down by the encounter. I concur with don’t meet your idols 🙂
I had a chance to go backstage and meet one of my favorite performers and I was like, no. Because I would rather just live with the image in my head and keep enjoying the music rather than having it all ruined. And for what? So I could tell people, “I met blah blah blah!” and they would be like, “Cool!” and I’d be like, “Yeah, it was pretty cool.”…… Not worth the risk.
I am not a hugger by nature.
Previous job involved company events for fundraising.
At the end, the CEO went around hugging and kissing everyone on the cheek, Thanks, Great Job.
I had never met this man before in my life, a perfect stranger to me.
I did not see him coming either, so I was caught truly off guard.
I felt myself stiffen and recoil, several people commented “You should see your face.”
I bet. Do not touch me!
I have rarely been so uncomfortable.
Handshake would have been just fine, pat on the shoulder, fine.
Bear hugging and kissing me on the cheek, so NOT fine.
I hate people who kiss cheeks. It’s so uncomfortable.
I was at a women’s rights rally several years ago and ran into some nurses who were protesting with us. I went over to them and reached out for a hug and was rejected. It was so spur of the moment and very unlike me to do something like that (I am not a big hugger). They were very nice, but I still cringe at the thought that I invaded another person’s space like that.
By nature, I am not a hugger of people I’m not close with. I don’t say I love you or luv ya to coworkers at the office as everyone seems to do. It’s just not my way. However, I have loosened up some and will hug more. I’m so affectionate with my family so I don’t know why I’m weird that way at work.
JS seems like an ass, but he didn’t know who she was and was very polite. She literally ran up to him like a crazy person when he was talking on a mic. I guess he was being interviewed or something. He did nothing wrong here. But I felt a little bad for her because she seems sweet.
I would feel empathy for her if she admitted that it was wrong of her to repeatedly ask him for a hug after he said no the first time. She embarrassed herself.
Amando, it makes me feel sorrier for her that she was so needy as to lower herself to ask repeatedly. Low self-esteem and heartbreak, obviously, from the toxic rapist Dr. Luke. And Jerry Seinfeld IS a prick, which is why she probably chose him for the hug. She’s so damaged I wish her only well-being and happiness.
Seinfeld is a douche (I’m judgemental about him having such a huge car collection and just his whole vibe with his wife, Jessica, who seems to be a really good cook when it comes to simple, easy recipes however) but he had every right to say no to her hug requests. I don’t even shake hands with strangers; it’s gross.
I admittedly don’t know much about any of this, but this all sounds like a trauma response, from trying for a hug, to not taking no, to carrying the hurt of that w her all these years later, taking it all personally, etc. JS was in the right to say no, but it prob triggered lots of bad feelings in her. I hope she has a good therapist to help her deal w this on a deeper level, prob around things like self-esteem, abuse, and attachment issues.
Isn’t Kesha the one who says, in all seriousness, that she had a sexual relationship with a ghost? And told the story publicly, on national television? Yeah, I don’t think someone declining a hug is her saddest or most embarrassing moment…
I love Kesha dearly, but I wish something like that was the worst moment of my life.
Actually I’m fairly certain it wasn’t the worst of her life either; she was just being hyperbolic
I think it’s like when celebrities tell cute stories to try to put themselves down and be self-effacing and interesting in quirky and they think endearing ways. It’s a bit disingenuous and fake because they too know it’s not a big deal. But it gets them coverage and makes it memorable. When they go on those talk shows they always have some cute story prepared. Sometimes it’s quirky like this.