He won’t be there for them.
Jerry Seinfeld, 70, had some harsh words for “Friends.”
During a promotion for the film “Unfrosted,” which is his directorial debut, Seinfeld takes aim at the hit sitcom for allegedly copying him.
“Unfrosted” is an upcoming comedy about the creation of Pop-Tarts. In addition to Seinfeld, it co-stars Hugh Grant, Melissa McCarthy, Max Greenfield, Amy Schumer, Peter Dinklage, Christian Slater, James Marsden and Dan Levy.
The promo video for “Unfrosted” accuses Seinfeld of trademark infringement as he “referenced 221 trademarked breakfasts” in the movie.
“Are you familiar with the concept of trademark infringement?” the fictional president of Pop-Tarts, Kelman P. Gasworth, asks Seinfeld in the video.
“You see Mr. Seinfeld, you took something of ours, and now we’re going to take something of yours. Show him, Tarty.”
A glass was then shown to be holding “Seinfeld” actors Ali Wentworth, Phil Morris and Larry Thomas.
“Schmoopie, Jackie Chiles and the Soup Nazi! My characters!” Seinfeld exclaims.
“They’re my characters now, Mr. Seinfeld,” Gasworth says. “Tell me, how does it feel when people steal your ideas and then do whatever they want with them?”
“You mean like ‘Friends’?” Seinfeld asks.
“Seinfeld” aired for nine seasons on NBC from 1989 to 1998. Famously referred to as a “show about nothing,” it followed a group of friends’ daily lives (and ended with them behind bars — which co-creator Larry David’s HBO show “Curb Your Enthusiasm” recently paid homage to in its own series finale).
“Friends” aired for 10 seasons on NBC from 1994 to 2004, and although it also followed friends’ daily lives, it had more plot threads and a more upbeat rom-com style ending that gave Chandler (the late Matthew Perry) the last word.
In a recent interview with The New Yorker, Seinfeld also said that he thinks comedy has gone downhill.
“Nothing really affects comedy. People always need it. They need it so badly, and they don’t get it,” Seinfeld told the outlet.
“It used to be, you would go home at the end of the day, most people would go, ‘Oh, “Cheers” is on. Oh, “MASH” is on. Oh, “Mary Tyler Moore” is on. “All in the Family” is on.’ You just expected, ‘There’ll be some funny stuff we can watch on TV tonight.’ Well, guess what — where is it?”
He added: “This is the result of the extreme left and PC crap, and people worrying so much about offending other people.”
