Jason Alexander says he ‘truly regrets’ Courtney Stodden teen skit
A renewed controversy around a 2012 comedy sketch has prompted a public apology from the Seinfeld actor and reignited debate about the treatment of minors in entertainment.
Jason Alexander has issued a public apology after Courtney Stodden criticised a 2012 comedy sketch in which she appeared as a minor.
Prompting renewed scrutiny of the actor best known for playing George Costanza in Seinfeld, Jason, 66, addressed the controversy in a statement to Page Six following remarks made by Courtney, 31, about the “Funny or Die” sketch titled The Don Clay Show with Courtney Stodden.
The clip, filmed in 2012, featured Jason alongside Courtney and her then husband Doug Hutchison, now 66.
Courtney said she was 17 at the time of filming and has since used her platform to advocate for stronger protections for minors in the entertainment industry, including support for California’s proposed AB 1267 legislation.
Jason said: “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 added: “But more importantly, I am deeply sorry for any harm or distress it has caused Ms. Stodden. I offer her my sincerest apologies.”
On Monday (20.07.26), Courtney posted a detailed account of her experience on Instagram, describing the filming and its aftermath.
She wrote: “I was 17 years old in this photo. The older I get, the more impossible this is to understand. 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 continued: “Later in the sketch, he joked that when I turned 18 he’d like to take me behind the couch and ‘have his way’ with me.”
Courtney also noted Jason was credited as a writer on the sketch in addition to starring in it.
Reflecting on the experience, Courtney said: “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. The paycheck went to Doug.”
She added: “I see a 17-year-old girl whose body became part of an adult joke. People still say, ‘You chose to be there’. Legally, I couldn’t make those decisions for myself.”
Courtney described feeling isolated during the production, writing she was “the only child in the room” and “felt so alone”.
In a separate statement to Page Six, she said: “At 17, I was a minor working in an environment where the adults around me were responsible for my safety and well-being. Looking back as an adult, I see those experiences very differently than I did at the time.”
She added: “My reason for speaking out now isn’t about revisiting the past for its own sake… it’s about helping create a future where children are better protected and where adults in positions of power are held to a higher standard.”
Courtney and Doug married in 2011 when she was 16 and he was 51, a relationship that drew widespread media attention at the time.
She has since described Doug as a “predator” and “pedophile” – claims he has dismissed.
The pair separated in 2017, with Courtney filing for divorce in 2018, before the split was finalised in 2020. She is now married to producer Jared Safier.
Courtney, who rose to wider public attention through appearances including Celebrity Big Brother, has increasingly focused on advocacy work, particularly around legal reforms concerning child marriage in the United States.
