5 ms·

He had a 16 year old girlfriend. Jerry Seinfeld had a 17 year old girlfriend. Why doesn't Jerry make headlines?

by aerodog 9y ago

minikites 9y ago
He should be.
- HarryHirsch 9y ago
  Don't let the difference in age distract you from the fact that the power differential is what is important.
Gabriel_Martin 9y ago
I can't tell if this is whataboutism
- zaksoup 9y ago
  probably means it is...
dcre 9y ago
The article, if you had read it, makes abundantly clear that the story here is not only the mere fact of her age and their "dating", but rather a number of specific manipulations and violations.
coldtea 9y ago
Because public opinion has become more prudish/fundamentalist over the decades. Meanwhile, established religious groups marry young teenage girls, sometimes several of them at once.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- jacquesm 9y ago
  Grooming kids from when they were 14/15 has a lot to do with it, as well as that it seems this was a pretty calculated thing from day #1.
  - coldtea 9y ago
    Well, approaching them at 14 is indeed perverted. Not sure if the "pre-calculated thing" can be substantiated though.
    - jacquesm 9y ago
      He did it (at least) twice, in exactly the same way.
      - Frondo 9y ago
        Twice that we know of, twice that people have come forward for. If the other situations involving abusive men of the last year or so are any guide, there are others who haven't come forward, for whatever reason.
        jacquesm 9y ago
        Good point. I've added 'at least'.
  - cctt23 9y ago
    One of them was 13, the other 14. I would add that it’s probably worth appending a mental, “that we know of so far,” to all of this.
- ihsw2 9y ago
  Well, the innocence of youth is a relatively new concept to society as a whole and around the world.
stickfigure 9y ago
I think this deserves a serious answer. In the case of Kricfalusi, he first approached these girls when they were much younger - pubescent. He used his authority to pressure them into relationships (they worked for him!). The interest was not reciprocated. This appears to be a repeated behavior pattern. It's super super creepy. I hadn't heard of the Seinfeld thing, so I looked it up. The girl turned 18 shortly after they met. She did not depend on him for his career. His other partners have been age-appropriate. Most importantly, she doesn't appear to be aggrieved, unlike Kricfalusi's victims. Seinfeld's relationship age difference is eyebrow-raising and maybe a bit cringeworthy, but not inherently damning. Even young adult human beings have agency.
gdulli 9y ago
Maybe he should be. Especially if he started grooming her from the age of 13, as in this case. Lots of rich famous people get away with things.
tzs 9y ago
It did make headlines at the time. Probably the big difference with Seinfeld is one or more of the following: 1. The age of consent in New York is 17, so there was nothing illegal about it. 2. She turned 18 shortly after they met. Seinfeld claims that all they did together before she turned 18 was go out to eat. The actual dating started after she was 18. 3. He wasn't doing anything to hide the relationship from the public or from her parents. 4. It doesn't appear that he used any power or leverage to coerce her into a relationship. It's unclear if she even knew who he was when he asked for and received her phone number during their first meeting, which was a chance encounter in Central Park.
DoreenMichele 9y ago
The article under discussion here involves the 16 year old girlfriend complaining about how she was mistreated, complaints substantiated by other witnesses. I was not previously familiar with Seinfeld's relationship with a much younger woman, but a quick search indicates they dated for a few years while she was in college and then the relationship ended. She apparently turned down his marriage proposal. She has apparently not come forward to suggest that he was mistreating her. If she did, that story would likely get plenty of press. People apparently gave him a hard time about the relationship at the time. We aren't frying Seinfeld because his much younger ex girlfriend isn't accusing him. Ultimately, her opinion here carries more weight than that of the rest of the world. Whatever people may think of the inappropriateness of the age difference, as far as I know, she is not claiming she was victimized.

He had a 16 year old girlfriend. Jerry Seinfeld had a 17 year old girlfriend. Why doesn't Jerry make headlines?

minikites 9y ago

He should be.

HarryHirsch 9y ago
Don't let the difference in age distract you from the fact that the power differential is what is important.

Gabriel_Martin 9y ago

I can't tell if this is whataboutism

zaksoup 9y ago
probably means it is...

dcre 9y ago

The article, if you had read it, makes abundantly clear that the story here is not only the mere fact of her age and their "dating", but rather a number of specific manipulations and violations.

coldtea 9y ago

Because public opinion has become more prudish/fundamentalist over the decades. Meanwhile, established religious groups marry young teenage girls, sometimes several of them at once.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
jacquesm 9y ago
Grooming kids from when they were 14/15 has a lot to do with it, as well as that it seems this was a pretty calculated thing from day #1.
- coldtea 9y ago
  Well, approaching them at 14 is indeed perverted. Not sure if the "pre-calculated thing" can be substantiated though.
  - jacquesm 9y ago
    He did it (at least) twice, in exactly the same way.
    - Frondo 9y ago
      Twice that we know of, twice that people have come forward for. If the other situations involving abusive men of the last year or so are any guide, there are others who haven't come forward, for whatever reason.
      - jacquesm 9y ago
        Good point. I've added 'at least'.
- cctt23 9y ago
  One of them was 13, the other 14. I would add that it’s probably worth appending a mental, “that we know of so far,” to all of this.
ihsw2 9y ago
Well, the innocence of youth is a relatively new concept to society as a whole and around the world.

stickfigure 9y ago

I think this deserves a serious answer. In the case of Kricfalusi, he first approached these girls when they were much younger - pubescent. He used his authority to pressure them into relationships (they worked for him!). The interest was not reciprocated. This appears to be a repeated behavior pattern. It's super super creepy. I hadn't heard of the Seinfeld thing, so I looked it up. The girl turned 18 shortly after they met. She did not depend on him for his career. His other partners have been age-appropriate. Most importantly, she doesn't appear to be aggrieved, unlike Kricfalusi's victims. Seinfeld's relationship age difference is eyebrow-raising and maybe a bit cringeworthy, but not inherently damning. Even young adult human beings have agency.

gdulli 9y ago

Maybe he should be. Especially if he started grooming her from the age of 13, as in this case. Lots of rich famous people get away with things.

tzs 9y ago

It did make headlines at the time. Probably the big difference with Seinfeld is one or more of the following: 1. The age of consent in New York is 17, so there was nothing illegal about it. 2. She turned 18 shortly after they met. Seinfeld claims that all they did together before she turned 18 was go out to eat. The actual dating started after she was 18. 3. He wasn't doing anything to hide the relationship from the public or from her parents. 4. It doesn't appear that he used any power or leverage to coerce her into a relationship. It's unclear if she even knew who he was when he asked for and received her phone number during their first meeting, which was a chance encounter in Central Park.

DoreenMichele 9y ago

The article under discussion here involves the 16 year old girlfriend complaining about how she was mistreated, complaints substantiated by other witnesses. I was not previously familiar with Seinfeld's relationship with a much younger woman, but a quick search indicates they dated for a few years while she was in college and then the relationship ended. She apparently turned down his marriage proposal. She has apparently not come forward to suggest that he was mistreating her. If she did, that story would likely get plenty of press. People apparently gave him a hard time about the relationship at the time. We aren't frying Seinfeld because his much younger ex girlfriend isn't accusing him. Ultimately, her opinion here carries more weight than that of the rest of the world. Whatever people may think of the inappropriateness of the age difference, as far as I know, she is not claiming she was victimized.