Not all of us are huggers. We know this. (I’ll admit I’m kind of a hugger.) But we now know that Jerry Seinfeld is NOT a hugger. At least not with strangers. Can you blame him? Watch the below video – and then we must must must discuss.
https://youtu.be/iG87m0qox6A
So here’s a little back story – while at the David Lynch Foundation’s National Night of Laughter and Song at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. on June 5th) he was giving an interview with Tommy McFly of 94.7 Fresh FM.
RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE of his interview, Kesha decides to ambush him for a hug.
“I’m Kesha, I love you so much…Can I give you a hug?”
He politely declines. She tries again.
“please?”
“No thanks.”
“a little one?”
“No thanks.”
In case you lost count, that was three times.
She saunters away, embarassed, and Seinfeld tells Tommy he didn’t know who she was.
HERE’S THE THING:
- Jerry is in the middle of an interview. Unless you know Jerry personally as a friend and know he won’t mind, it’s rude to just interrupt that. He could have been talking about something serious. Even if he wasn’t he could have been promoting something important to him, or simply making an important point. Mama told us not to interrupt.
- Whild I DO know who Kesha (sorry, Ke$ha) is, I’m still not sure if she walked right up to me I would immediately know. First, there are bright lights everywhere, and second, sometimes she’s got pink hair, other times she has that raccoon eye makeup going, and still another time she had silver paint going down her cheek. These “I’m an artist” getups these pop stars wear on the red carpets make them unrecognizable every time they’re at an event. Hella confusing, I believe the young kids would say.
- Okay, third. When someone ‘passes’ on a hug just ONCE, laugh it off and blow him a kiss. If they pass a SECOND time, shame on you, walk away immediately. If you are crazy enough to go in for a third attempt, you never deserved a hug in the first place!
- Wait… I thought of one more… Why are we supposed to believe that all big stars (like Seinfeld and Kesha) should be bonded as friends by connection of celebrity? If a total stranger walked up to you, or me or one of your family and asked for a hug wouldn’t we all be a bit skeeved out by that? Without any context? I would be. We shouldn’t assume all celebrities are friendly just because they’re walking down a nicer rug than we are.
Okay, I’ll calm down now. And this comes from me, who is pretty much a hugger. I have on occasion hugged some people I’m just meeting, based on who is making the introduction, as long as there is some context and both of us are down for it (you know pretty early on.) I’m totally down with that. But I don’t blame someone for not being a hugger. That’s cool too.
Here’s Seinfeld’s own explanation, which I think jives completely with what I’m saying.
“I was right in the middle of an interview, it was a little off…I don’t hug a total stranger. I have to meet someone. Say hello. I gotta start somewhere…I’m sure I would’ve liked her, but I need to know who are you.”
Apparently they reconnected (still without a hug) later on in the evening, and all is fine, Kesha has recovered, and both shared a laugh. I’m guessing Seinfeld laughed a little more than Kesha.
