Courtney Stodden has called out Jason Alexander over a 2012 Funny or Die comedy sketch that resurfaced online in August 2026, and the Seinfeld actor has apologised publicly.
Stodden, 31, aired the complaint on Instagram, pointing out that she was 17 and a minor when the sketch was filmed.
Alexander, 66, who is credited as one of the sketch’s writers, answered with a statement of his own, as reported by Variety.
What the Courtney Stodden and Jason Alexander sketch involved
The sketch was made for Funny or Die in 2012 and parodied Dr Phil and other daytime talk shows.
In it, Alexander repeatedly touched a cellphone to Stodden’s chest while joking about getting a signal, a bit both of them have since called inappropriate given her age at the time.
On Instagram, Stodden wrote that she had been a minor when the sketch was filmed and did not have the legal standing to decide for herself whether to take part.
Time had not softened it for her, and she put that plainly in her post:
“As an adult, that fact has become harder, not easier, for me to understand.”
Alexander did not push back. The Seinfeld star, who played George Costanza across nine seasons, put out a statement acknowledging the sketch and the upset it caused, and he did not attempt to explain the joke away or lean on the comedy climate of the time.
What Jason Alexander said to Courtney Stodden
He addressed the sketch itself first, without qualifiers and without a defence of the era it was made in.
His public statement opened with a flat concession that the material should not have been shot the way it was, and he took his share of responsibility for it:
“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.”
The apology did not stop at the sketch. Alexander turned the rest of his statement towards Stodden directly, naming the harm rather than the awkwardness, and he did not route it through a publicist-flavoured note about lessons learned.
He closed on the part she had been waiting on:
“But more importantly, I am deeply sorry for any harm or distress it has caused Ms. Stodden. I offer her my sincerest apologies.”
Where the Courtney Stodden callout goes next
Whether Stodden accepts the apology could not be verified at the time of publishing, and neither side has signalled anything beyond the Instagram post and the statement that answered it.
The 2012 clip has since travelled well past the small comedy audience it was originally cut for.
The next move sits with Stodden, who raised the matter in the first place and has not indicated what follows. Alexander has said what he set out to say, and his statement stands as his only comment on it.
Anything further will have to come from the Instagram account where she started this.
