Julia Louis-Dreyfus discussed political correctness, the roles she is drawn to, including starring in the next film Tuesday (released June 14), where she plays a mother whose teenage daughter has a terminal illness and more in a wide-ranging interview with The New York Times.
The actress has portrayed a variety of characters with “sharp edges” – from Seinfeldfrom Elaine Benes to the self-centered Selina Meyer in Veep – they are very funny, but they are not “good girls”, she said. “I don’t play girls who behave the way a good girl should behave. If they do, they do so with bitterness and anxiety,” she said. The times. “I’ve played a lot of characters who reject the position they’re in, who aren’t satisfied with their place in the world. And this is real. Women are having their rights taken away. And the women are not happy, and I play women like that.”
Meanwhile Veep was a political satire, Meyer was far from politically correct. Louis-Dreyfus’ former co-star Jerry Seinfeld was recently in the news for complaining about “the far left and PC crap” killing comedy and stifling creativity. His position earned him the admiration of far-right influencers. Louis-Dreyfus, however, disagreed with this line of thinking.
“My feeling about all of this is that political correctness, to the extent that it equates to tolerance, is obviously fantastic,” she said. “And of course I reserve the right to boo anyone who says something that offends me, while also respecting their right to freedom of expression, right?”
When it comes to what’s holding back creativity, she sees the issue arising from those who have the power and money to give the green light to what’s being done. “But the biggest problem – and I think the real threat to art and the creation of art – is the consolidation of money and power,” she said. “All this isolation of studios, channels, streamers and distributors – I don’t think it’s good for the creative voice. So that’s what I mean in terms of the threat to art.”
As for whether Seinfeld Could it be done today, she said, “Probably not.” Unlike Seinfeld, who said The New Yorker in April that he wouldn’t be able to make the same jokes Seinfeld now, as he did when it was made due to political correctness, Louis-Dreyfus cites the show as being too unique rather than not being PC enough for the time. “I mean, what the hell is still going on on network television? When Seinfeld was made, it was really different from anything else that was going on at the time. It was just a bunch of losers out there. So I would say one of the main reasons why it wouldn’t be done now is because it’s hard to get something different recognized. Especially nowadays, everyone is a little scared.”
When she’s asked directly about her co-star’s controversial comments about political correctness, Louis-Dreyfus emphasized how the comedy has evolved over the decades.
“If you look back at comedy and drama from, say, 30 years ago, through today’s lens, you might find bits and pieces that don’t age well. And I think having an antenna about sensitivities is not a bad thing,” she said. “That doesn’t mean all the comedy goes out the window.
“When I hear people starting to complain about political correctness – and I understand why people might recoil – but to me that’s a warning sign, because sometimes it means something else,” she added. “I believe that being aware of certain sensitivities is not a bad thing.”
