It turns out the “feud” between Howard Stern and Jerry Seinfeld was a feud about nothing.
The legendary radio personality said the comedian did not have to issue an apology after Seinfeld made comments that appeared to disparage Stern while he was a guest on David Spade and Dana Carvey’s podcast.
So, what exactly happened between the two?
What did Jerry Seinfeld say about Howard Stern?
The saga began during Seinfeld’s May 8 appearance on “Fly on the Wall” when he brought up Stern’s name while talking about interview shows.
“Howard Stern invented this, right?” he said. “But we’re better than him now. Howard is interesting. Howard is a great interviewer, but comedy chops, I mean, can we speak candidly?”
Seinfeld said comedy podcasts like Carvey and Spade’s had “outflanked” Stern’s long-running radio show.
“This is the best one on the air,” he said, referring to “Fly on the Wall.” “Because you guys play nice together, it’s smooth. You’re not jumping on each other, which is annoying to listen to.”
Why is Jerry Seinfeld apologizing?
The former sitcom star, who has been promoting the Netflix movie “Unfrosted,” which he directed and stars in, later said he was sorry for his choice of words.
“I really feel bad for what I said about my friend Howard Stern in a conversation with David Spade and Dana Carvey, talking about the glut of comedy podcasts,” Seinfeld said in a statement, according to Entertainment Weekly. “I meant to say he must feel surrounded, but I said ‘outflanked’ which sounded terrible and insulting.
“And of course, none of these little shows are any threat to his giant show,” he added. “Anyway, it was bad and I’m sorry, Howie. I still love you. Please forgive me.”
How did Howard Stern react to Seinfeld’s comments?
Stern addressed the comments on his radio show on May 14.
“Jerry had said that basically I’m an interviewer and that I’m not a comedian and that now comedians have podcasts and comedians are, you know, funnier or something than me,” Stern said on his SiriusXM show, according to Entertainment Weekly.
“I read it, and I went, ‘Oh, that’s weird,’ because Jerry is a personal friend of ours. Especially his wife, Jessica, is really good friends with (my wife) Beth.”
Stern added, “Jerry called me immediately and was like, ‘I f---d up, and I want to apologize. He goes, ‘You know when you’re on the air, and s--- just comes out wrong?”
Stern said Seinfeld was making something out of nothing.
“I said ‘Jerry, you don’t even have to — please. This is embarrassing,” he said. “I’m the king of going on the air and having millions of regrets afterward. Apology accepted, I don’t care, and you know what? If I’m not a comedian, I’m an interviewer, I don’t know what I am.
“I always considered myself a bit of a comedian, but whatever it is, don’t worry about it.’ And he apologized for a really long time, and he said it really came out wrong.”
Stern also said that Seinfeld asked if he could come on his show to make amends.
“He says, ‘Can I come on the show today and apologize?’” Stern said. “I said, ‘Not necessary, I don’t want get into it. It’s awkward, it’s fine.’ I said, ‘I’ve had to apologize to you for s--- I’ve said, I’ve had to call up people and apologize for s--- I’ve done on the air when I’m a huge fan of these people. I don’t know what gets into me, I f--- up sometimes. So it wasn’t really that big a deal. I didn’t really think much about it.”
