Marc Maron Breaks Down Contentious Seinfeld Interview 

Marc Maron looks the way a cigarette tastes.🤣

Marc’s cathartic comedy is very different than Seinfeld’s observational style. I think Marc was just trying to elicit some authentic emotion from Jerry that I’m not sure exists. He appears very robotic and guarded in all his interactions. It was an attempt to bridge their differences but Jerry was not going to budge. Sad to watch.

Seinfeld’s hate for Maron and Goldthwait makes his relationship with Larry David even more puzzling.

Seinfeld be like “what’s the deal with ppl buying Ferrari Romas and not Porsche 911s” He just does the same greatest hits jokes for the last 25 years It’s he’s far removed from relatable comedy.

Mad Magazine called him “Swinefeld.”

There’s no question Jerry Seinfeld is an incredibly successful comedian. That being said, I don’t think he’s even in the conversation with the all time greats. He’s just a formulaic standup comedian with a large demographic audience due to his fame. This isn’t meant to disparage his show, which was brilliant. I put that more on Larry David than Jerry.

I agree with Jerry. I don't find comedy particularly compelling from an argument standpoint. If I wanted to be convinced of a political stance, I'd listen to an academic debate held at a university...not Maron. The difference between Maron and Seinfeld is Maron thinks he's a genius and isn't funny, Seinfeld knows he's not super smart but rather just wants to laugh.

Marc is on the money here.

The irresistible force meets the immovable object. Mark's "thing" is getting to know the real person behind the public persona. He's done this very successfully over the years with people like Norm MacDonald, Bobby Lee...even Adam Corolla if you can believe it. Jerry's "thing" is that behind his smarmy persona is...more smarmy persona. There may be a real person inside there, but he's never going to cop to it on recordable media -- which is totally ok; some things should be preserved for your private life. Even Marc has learned that the hard way over the years. But it does bring us back around to the original question: Why is Seinfeld doing WTF?

Remember when 30+ Jerry was dating a teenager?!! Hilarious!

Jerry did in fact find comedy to be more than entertainment but after talking to the late Garry Shandling he apparently went in another direction.

It has been clear for years that Seinfeld needs to have complete control over everything and that he is absolutely frightened to take a real stand on anything, lest he open himself up to criticism or inquiry.

Both comics are Premier League, just different approaches. Love them both.

If comedy had anything close to a corporate structure it would be Seinfeld.

Jerry just said the joke and the laugh is what counts. Anything else is fine but not the main objective. It’s comedy not a Ted talk I guess

Marc takes a defensive and presumptuous POV here. How does any guest owe him - or the public - a deep-dive into their psyche? If one wants to do that, fine; but Jerry opens up a little on a situational basis, with people with whom he seems to feel comfortable: Letterman, for example. He didn’t know Marc, and being on Marc’s podcast really isn’t a guarantee to deliver some psychological insight. In fact, I’ve heard Jerry elsewhere talk more analytically about comedy and comedians, when he’s into it. I think Marc had high expectations, and it’s pretty nervy to accuse Jerry of being disingenuous because Marc, frankly, did a bad job as a host. Marc is uneven as an interviewer: sometimes careful and thoughtful, sometimes too aggressive with constant interruptions. It’s possible that when Jerry sensed Marc’s need for him to deliver soul-searching and deep insights, it made him uncomfortable. That means that Marc didn’t do his job. He didn’t listen and sense deeply where to meet his guest on their territory. To blame Jerry for that is lame. Marc should take responsibility and learn from his mistakes. Bad form.

Great video. Great channel.

Marc does not make Jerry uncomfortable. He does not concede that power. There was nothing wrong with discussing a difference in approach and philosophy. I enjoyed the conversation very much. But to call Jerry’s values and approach to comedy, “dishonest”, frankly; it’s a little bigoted and passively authoritarian. I don’t know if it’s because he’s waaay funnier than Marc, but he is.

I feel like Mark didn’t understand what Jerry was saying, and Mark is so passionate about his particular view of comedy that he refused to understand what Jerry was saying. Jerry was saying that he only cares about comedy. It’s not that comedy cannot be meaningful, it’s that he doesn’t care whether it is or is not. Jerry only cares if it is funny. Mark is objectively wrong. That comedy has to be about more. But it is understandable that he chooses to enjoy comedy that happens to be about Moore. I think many of us do.

Who asked for honesty? We want a comedian that can make us LAUGH!

Jerry Seinfeld is an absolute legend. He’s so confident in himself that he doesn’t crave the attention to blather on about his personal life to a stranger on a podcast. It’s incredibly refreshing.

dishonest? what’s dishonest about being clear that you have zero desire to do social commentary and just jokes? Weird

30 seconds of intro on a clip hahahaha

To be fair to Seinfeld, I do think he opened up a little bit. But whenever he did, he'd catch himself and take a couple steps back.

Love them both. Tell me again why J can't have his pov or opinion? I'm dense so I need you to break down why it's"dishonest?"

Over time, Seinfeld has revealed himself as narcissistic, shallow, facile and glaringly smug. It's not surprising he acted like a tool.

I am sure there is another side to Seinfeld, ofc there is. But the very fact that he is willing to keep that to himself and not share it with the world, I think it's part of his success

Why is it dishonest?. Here for the jokes not the politics. .

Years ago I went to a show, and the guy before him was very funny. I thought wow. How can Jerry out do this guy. Jerry came on stage and I was absolutely amazed. The most important thing being a comic is knowing what is funny.

I like political comedy, but I don't recall any comedian changing my mind.

Dude!! You aren't the gate keeper of comedy.

I've never found Marc Maron to be funny. He has this fetish for wanting to talk about politics or feelings, but Seinfeld to me is a really personal human being. So what? Honestly in a lot of long form interviews he comes off as very philosophical about comedy and comedians.He talks about the craft often and remember the documentary he released about standup?

Jerry is very big, especially in his own head. Jerry loves Jerry.

Festivus for the rest of us is what needs to be said here.

OMG - that was some after-construction by Marc Maron. Love WTF and it is the ONLY podcast I listen to since many years. Seinfeld was one of his many top-top interviews, but I am not blind to Maron's blind spots and Jerry certainly brought out one of them. If you listen to the interview JS is actually just saying that you can do whatever you want, just get laughs. Maron instead thinks there has to be something vulnerable and personal, which for JS is just one way of doing it. His dislike (and I suspect envy) for JS goes through the whole series and pops up now and then and he has said a lot of stuff about him which are, to quote one of his guests, beneath him. But I love them both.

Seinfeld makes us laugh… by being honest about everyday nonsense. He may not go deep but to say he’s dishonest doesn’t feel accurate.

Love Marc Maron.

Seinfeld is without a doubt an extremely successful comedian, (thanks in large part to Larry David, I believe.) But in no way do I consider him a great comedian.

Dam Marc put the phone on the table

Well, I guess my comedy philosophy would be if you want to be interesting more than funny you better be unbelievably interesting. Which I don’t think I am so a focus on the funny part. I love, love Lenny Bruce. And I know a lot of comics wish they had that edge. Sadly…

I feel so similar for Seinfeld. The dude has a style that many people like, I am just not getting it like they do.

Marc calling is interviewing not comedy. He has a way of getting people to open up. Jerry was not going to let that happen.

Two things: First, Jerry is from an upper middle class background which is atypical of comedians. He doesn’t understand the anxiety or anger or hostility or frustration that usually drives a comic to being on a stage baring his soul. He sees it strictly an entertainment mission for profit. So why be “controversial” and drive people away in the name of either “art” or bringing false/fake attention to yourself. He sees it as cheap, a product of low talent and counter productive at the turnstiles. So be funny and be accessible and acceptable to every audience. And Jerry IS great at being that. Second, was his feud with Mitzi Shore at the Comedy Store which Jerry always hung onto. She liked the comics who were different and took chances and had something “important” to say. Marc was someone Mitzi embraced. Mitzi told Jerry he wasn’t funny. Whether Marc was aware or not, Jerry probably walked into the room thinking he might be walking into a room with a proxy for Mitzi. Marc should have anticipated that and assume any challenge would be taken as an attack. I doubt that was his intention, and Jerry probably knows that logically, but that sort of long held anger is hard to contain.

Intro is way too long for a 3 min video

Well said

Listen to the Bob & Ray "Komodo Dragon" bit...that is every single interview that MM does!

Comedy has room for everyone. Not every comic needs to be an emotional, male-feminist, like Marc. And not every comic needs to be clean and extremely funny, like Jerry. There's room for every style of comic! 😃

I totally agree with Maron about seinfeld's public strategy.

What bullshit. Seinfeld has his point-of-view and Maron has his, as we all do. Calling Seinfeld disingenuous for owning his perspective is in itself disingenuous.

So this is an interview about an interview. I'm going to do an interview about this interview about an interview!🙄

The first part of the interview wasnt contentious at all. It was pretty good. Nobody cares about the non conflict part.

This gets me interested in checking out that interview, even though I hardly enjoy Seinfeld's humor or that sitcom.

Seinfeld the sitcom was great. Seinfeld the stand-up was not.

Pretty sure I've actually heard Seinfeld say he doesn't know HOW to write political comedy or 'other' types of comedy. And thats fair, thats largely why I've never really been a 'fan'. Hell Steven Wright is more 'politcal' or at least 'social'. When Mitch Hedberg says "I used to do drugs.....I still do drugs, but used to too". Thats an almost political statement in america. As for Jerry's feelings about Marc, Marc admits to mostly doing drugs and booze all through life, and thats kind of the opposite of Jerry. Frankly, I've seen old clips of Marc Maron and he's just never been remotely funny. So I suspect Jerry is just puzzled at why this guy is getting psychotherapy by yelling at audiences and thinking thats comedy. It took Marc a LONG time, something he admits. His second standup show on Netflix is right up there with the best of Louis CK. I always find most comedianas are like rock bands, they really only have one good album in them. The REALLY remarkable ones have a couple, Louis had a few years, and then somebody like Richard Pryor is just like Pink Floyd, just so rare. Ironically Marc can interview some really funny people and be the funny one in the interview. Jerry seems to be the guy next door you find out kills neighbourhood animals and puts them in the freezer. A guy that seems SO normal that in their head you figure they must be crazy. Jerry says he could never be with somebody 'remotely normal', and the fact that he met his wife right after her engagement or something like that, is just way out there. At least you know its 'love', because its just so crazy. But for a guy to be in his late thirties and go out with a teenager, thats just weird. The guy is weird, but as they say, comedians start at weird and then go to psychotic. At least used to, because now half the population is a comedian, hell the President was funnier than anybody. But Mr. Maron definitely has his roadhouse. Its pretty clear he likes the comedians that do his kind of comedy. As Tracy Ullman said, he seems uncomfortable with women, but its not becaues they are women, but becaues they are usually not 'his taste in funny'. Y ou can tell he really doesn't like comedians who 'have a character' they play on stage. Thats also seemingly 'dishonest'. But at least he's honest about that usually, and with Jerry he was pretty friendly. THe podcast was big enough that I think Jerry thought he couldnt' really avoid it without seeming like a douchebag, and with covid he figured at least this way he can just talk into the camera without actualy having to be in the room with marc-who is 'unpredictable'.

Marc has always been a bent outta-shape short sighted flip flopper. He even says here hes inconsistent...

I thought Jerry was very honest, straightforward, and professional about his process and opinions. I love WTF but it was really weird listening to him trying to badger Jerry into agreeing with him.

maron is right with this imo. and in professing to be surface and not saying anything, seinfeld is taking a discourse deeper than he ever wanted by rigidly holding to that. at some point is he going to let go is what i wonder.

Scott King

45 second intro to a 3 minute video. Nope

I love Mark, he truly doesn’t give a shit, & does whatever he wants. He’s one of my heroes for sure.

It’s not that Marc makes Jerry uncomfortable _ it’s that Marc CAN’T do his bully thing to make Jerry uncomfortable and that makes Marc uncomfortable. Also, Jerry is old school and respectful of structure. Marc isn’t.

Word

Marc, who is great by the way, shoots himself in the foot aall the time by talking bad about famous people, all the time. Not sure if it is hi schtick or he is jealous.

Never saw his show, my friends would travel to see him in the late 80's. I have never seen his stand up. I didn't mind his coffee show.... I don't think he realizes that there are many people like myself born in the late 60's and later who just never saw his work but know who he is. He has bad energy and is delusional about his importance in the world and seems to be turning into a grumpy old rabbi

Jerry Seinfeld is the Jay Leno of Jerry Seinfelds

I actually thought it was a good interview. It wasn't that contentious

A link to wth interview they’re talking about might be nice. I’m not sure I’ve ever heard of Marc but possibly when he was younger.

I didn't think it was contentious. Just two comedians with different comedy points of view.

Wow, people have nothing to do if they’re calling Marc Maron for comments on his Jerry Seinfeld interview. Maron is not a comedian. He is a lightweight Bill Hicks rip-off imitator.

Seinfeld is the goat. What is wrong with you people? Do you go on writing? He’s him.

that's why jerry is the superior comedian. because he focused completely on his craft. marc maron is so worried about having something else besides his comedy, both because his actual comedy is weak, but also because he might have an inferiority complex about being a comedian.

'small minds talk about people'...Omski

"people like me.." i'm unpredictable blah blah.... the arrogance...

Lo and behold, Jerry's making sociopolitical stances now. And they're all ass. Which is ultimately what keeps these guys from mouthing off on those topics until there's pressure or financial incentive to do so.

Maron is certainly good at what he does, and one can understand the reason for his success as a podcaster (many years in the business on both coasts, terrific memory, understands the comedy circuit infrastructure--agents, managers, booking agents, club owners),, which people find fascinating. But, he's also political and opinionated, and likes to project his values as an entertainer on others, which is a real turn-off. Guess he views himself in the Lenny Bruce mold shouting truth to power and wanting to change the political landscape, Some comedians just want to entertain, and he takes issue with that (but only sometimes). He couldn't get Jerry to argue with him, or share Marc's comic philosophy, so he puts him down. Plus, there's probably a bit of jealously going on as well. Marc hasn't been nearly as successful as many of his contemporaries.

What a profound misreading of the way Seinfeld operates. He thinks you can joke about whatever you want, but the laughs should be your first priority. Marc is just looking for validation of his worldview; making people laugh is barely a consideration.

LOUD!

Papa Steve

I enjoyed Mark's Jerry interview. Everyone's different. My guess is Jerry's comedian bucket can only be filled by laughs. If he wants to say other things, then he takes the time to make it funny first. He would probably call that professionalism. Mark's comedian bucket can be filled with laughs and other stuff. Two full buckets. All good.

Love Marc but I get weirded out when ppl say they weren't huge fans of the Seinfeld show. Which he basically just said

Seinfeld is a dork and doesn't keep it real like Maron always has. Seinfeld has to sepnd hours THINKING of what he wants to say & write the same type of lame jokes. Marc Maron is clever & mixes his comedy up with actual life's irony. Hands down Seinfeld would be totally intimidated by a real guy like Maron who doesn't gaf about caring what others think of him all the time like Seinfeld does. Seinfeld's ego seems bigger than his mostly unfunny same old lame stand up comedy jokes. Maron just keeps it real. The same as Norm MacDonald alwasy did. CLEVER comedy. Stuf that makes a person, fan, viewer have to think a bit, instead of Seinfeld's type Disneyesque one liner written junk comedy. Seinfeld's type of comeday is for people with short attention spans imho. Not that there's anything wrong with that. lol

Seinfeld DOES take a stand on certain issues. Listen to him discuss the annoying and often diseased effect of wokeism on comedy.

And the LORD said to Moses, 'I have seen this people, and indeed it is a stiff-necked people!

I think that j.s is what you see is what you get- focus on yourself

No one would bother breaking down mark maren, it's just not worth it.

My thoughts on Jerry Seinfeld... I remember first seeing that guy many many moons ago when I was much younger on an HBO special. He was dressed up in a dog costume. You know wanted a zip-up costumes and he was doing his act and I would think to myself this guy's not funny and he looks like a damn idiot. I know the show Seinfeld has made him Rich but I have to tell you in my honest opinion he couldn't have done it on his own. Without the help of the other cast of characters making that show what it was, he would have been a flunky. See if you can go back and find those very early HBO specials where he was doing his comedy act and his dog outfit and you'll see what I mean.

Jerry is right, nowdays people do comedy and expect applause not laughter that's the road to hell and Maron paved the way for it and Jerry doesn't agree with it. He want's the laughs not the applause or anything else. They successfully have politicised comedy too without a clear government mandate like they did in the communist block in Europe. Here comes the politics which if you are intelligent you realize jerry is on the right and Maron and most poor working art people are on the left cause they have to be to get work and money they may realize it or not but if they get a lot of money a part of them go right cause finally are free some never realise and keep on that chase even after becoming rich and can say what the fuck they want, cause now it has become part of their identity.

Jerry Seinfeld is just like his show. A person about nothing.

Never found Seinfeld funny. Never could stand his arrogance.

It’s worth noting that Marc Maron isn’t funny

SEINFELD the assemble TV Show is a classic, no dispute. JERRY SEINFELD the comedian is mediocre at best. He should be happy that his TV show was such a success and enjoy his billions. Not everyone is Richard Prior or George Carlin.

Seinfeld was never funny. And, it appears that he is a nutcase to boot. Loved the show however.

I've always thought Seinfeld was way over rated as a comic. He was the least funny on his show as well and he's a terrible actor.

Well, Seinfeld thinks he's funny. I personally have never laughed with this guy's routines, I find them really mediocre, uninspire crap that had a pass in 1985, with a couple of beers. And he's got all that money. But I think his ego is really fragile, I guess what happened with Maron must have been something similar to the James Franco's thing. And of course WTF is a show were honesty is paramount, and it's so obvious when somebody's wearing a mask or enacting a persona, or just in it for the promotion or whatever the case may be.

Julia Louis Dreyfus was another TERRIBLE interview she did'nt want to talk about anything real. She's boring without a script.

loud!

Marc Maron is irrelevant

Maron has no morals. He's a homewrecker....

I Enjoy Marc’s podcast but don’t find him funny.

I don’t like these guys. Someone recommended me this.