Things hit Seinfeld or even Curb Your Enthusiasm levels of awkward when Jerry Seinfeld repeatedly denied Kesha a hug while cameras were rolling on the red carpet of an event earlier this week. While we know Jerry’s eponymous character on Seinfeld usually had some sort of petty reason to wig out over a social interaction — from man hands to wearing the same dress over and over again — many of us were left wondering, “Hey, what’s wrong with giving beloved singer Kesha a hug? She doesn’t actually brush her teeth with Jack Daniels, you know?â€
Well, in Seinfeld’s defense, at least he doesn’t hate Kesha, but that’s only because he actually doesn’t know who Kesha is. Extra’s AJ Calloway managed to get Seinfeld to comment on the moment, and his reply could also double as his next stand-up set:
I was right in the middle of an interview, it was a little off. When you get to be my age and you’ve done a couple things, you have your own reality, in my reality… I don’t hug a total stranger. I have to meet someone, say hello. I gotta start somewhere… hug isn’t first moment of a human, two humans. I never did that.
What’s the deal with hugging, anyway?