Seinfeld star Jason Alexander has issued an apology after Courtney Stodden shared a photo of him acting inappropriately towards her when she was a minor.
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The TV personality/model took to her Instagram last week to speak out about the incident. She shared a photo of Alexander from his 2012 Funny or Die comedy sketch, in which the actor rubbed a cellphone on her chest.
“I was 17 years old in this photo,” she wrote. “The older I get, the more impossible this is to understand. During this comedy sketch, Jason Alexander repeatedly rubbed his phone across my b—st while saying there was ‘no signal’ in my head but ‘plenty of signal’ in my chest.”
Stodden then recalled later in the sketch, Alexander joking that when she turned 18, he’d like to take her “behind the couch and ‘have his way'” with her.
“IMDb credits him as one of the writers of the episode,” she continued. “As an adult, that fact has become harder—not easier—for me to understand. I was a minor. I didn’t have the legal power to decide whether I wanted to participate. The contracts were signed by adults.”
Stodden noted that the paycheck from the gig went to her ex-husband, Doug Hutchison. She pointed out that she was the “only child in the room.”
“Looking back now, I don’t see comedy. I see a 17-year-old girl whose body became part of an adult joke,” she wrote. “People still say, “You chose to be there.” Legally, I couldn’t make those decisions for myself. That’s the point. I can’t change what happened to me, but I can ask myself: How did so many adults look at a minor and decide this was acceptable? That’s exactly why I speak out today.”
Stodden added that children deserve laws that protect them from such incidents.
Alexander Apologizes and Stodden Reacts
In a statement to Us Weekly, Alexander apologized for his behavior towards Stodden.
“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 shared. “But more importantly, I am deeply sorry for any harm or distress it has caused Ms. Stodden. I offer her my sincerest apologies.”
Stodden has since responded to the apology.
“I was grateful to learn Jason Alexander sent a beautiful gift to Unchained At Last. I want to sincerely thank him for choosing to turn words into action,” she wrote in a recent Instagram post. “Accountability isn’t about public punishment — it’s about taking meaningful steps that can help create change.”
Stodden then stated, “My hope has always been bigger than my own story. If difficult conversations can lead to real support for organizations protecting children and ending child marriage, then something positive can come from something deeply painful.”
“I hope this becomes the standard. When harm is acknowledged, meaningful action has the power to help others,” she added. “That’s how real change begins.”
She also encouraged her followers to make donations to the nonprofit organization Unchained At Last to end child marriage and protect children across the US.
