Seinfeld actor Jason Alexander has publicly apologized to reality television personality Courtney Stodden for appearing in a 2012 comedy sketch with her when she was 17 years old.
The apology came this week after Stodden reposted the Funny or Die video on Instagram and described how uncomfortable she now feels watching it as an adult.
The sketch, released in 2012 on the comedy website Funny or Die, parodied daytime talk shows like Dr. Phil. Alexander, then 53, appeared alongside Stodden, who was 17 at the time.
In the clip, Alexander plays a talk-show host and makes repeated jokes about Stodden’s body. At one point he rubs a mobile phone across her chest, saying there is “no signal” in her head but “plenty of signal” in her chest. Later in the sketch he makes another joke suggesting that when she turned 18 he would like to “take her behind the couch and have his way with her.”
The video largely faded from public attention until this week, when Stodden, now 31, shared it again and questioned how it was ever considered acceptable.
“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 wrote.
Stodden said she felt isolated at the time. “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.”
She added that looking back, she no longer sees comedy in the clip. “I see a 17-year-old girl whose body became part of an adult joke.”
Stodden said she decided to speak out not to attack Alexander personally, but to ask a larger question: “How did so many adults look at a minor and decide this was acceptable
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,” he said.
“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 that she “appreciated” the public apology. She noted, however, that Alexander had not reached out to her privately.
“People keep asking if he’s apologised privately, and he hasn’t,” she said. “A private apology would be meaningful, but meaningful action would be even more powerful.”
Stodden said that if Alexander truly regrets the sketch, he could support her advocacy work. She is currently campaigning for California Assembly Bill 1267, which would ban marriage for anyone under 18 in the state. The bill is backed by advocacy group Unchained At Last.
Stodden has been in the public eye since 2011, when she married actor Doug Hutchison at age 16. He was 51. The marriage was legal because her parents gave consent. The couple divorced in 2020.
Stodden has spoken publicly for years about that relationship and about being sexualized as a teenager. She has since become an advocate against child marriage.
In the US, marriage under 18 remains legal in 33 states with parental consent or a judicial waiver. It was legal in every state until 2018. California currently allows 17-year-olds to marry with parental and court approval. AB 1267 would change that by setting 18 as the minimum age with no exceptions.
Costanza on Seinfeld, one of the most influential sitcoms in US television history. He has also appeared in Pretty Woman, Shallow Hal, and ER, and has worked extensively as a director and writer.
Stodden first gained attention for the marriage to Hutchison and later appeared on reality shows including Couples Therapy, Celebrity Big Brother UK, Reality Ex-Wives, and Celebs Go Dating. In recent years she has focused more on advocacy, music, and commentary on media treatment of young women
The renewed attention on the 2012 sketch comes at a time when Hollywood is re-examining how minors were treated on set and in comedy during the 2000s and early 2010s.
Stodden’s post tapped into that conversation. She wrote that she can’t change what happened, but she can ask why adults in the room — writers, producers, and co-stars — didn’t stop it.
Alexander’s apology is one of the few times a high-profile actor has directly addressed a years-old sketch after being called out by a co-star who was a minor at the time.
Whether that leads to further action remains to be seen. For now, Stodden says she wants the moment to be about more than an apology.
