How Jerry Seinfeld Addressed That Larry King Incident
It's inarguable that "Seinfeld" is one of the top sitcoms to come out of the '90s. Over the course of its nine-year, 180-episode run, the show garnered 10 Emmy Award wins and 68 nominations. Almost a quarter of a century after its ending, "Seinfeld" is still beloved by the masses as it streams on Netflix and airs regularly on network television.
Therefore, when Larry King alluded to the idea that the series was canceled during a 2007 interview with Jerry Seinfeld, the comedian seemed to take offense. After King clarified with Seinfeld, "They didn't cancel you, you canceled them," there was a long pause and Seinfeld looked stunned. He said to King, "You're not aware of this? You think I got canceled? Are you under the impression that I got canceled? I thought that was pretty well-documented. Is this still CNN?"
Seinfeld proceeded to highlight his show's success, including having 75 million people tune in to the final episode in 1998. "I went off the air as the No. 1 show on television, Larry," he said. "Do you know who I am?" King apologized and attempted to shift gears to discuss Seinfeld's next project "Bee Movie," but Seinfeld spoke over him, "Can we get a résumé on here for me that Larry can go over?"
While watching this interaction on "Larry King Live," it was difficult for viewers to tell whether or not it was all in good fun. Though the words spoken were somewhat defensive, both men smiled and laughed at regular intervals. In 2021, Seinfeld finally revealed the truth.
Jerry Seinfeld wasn't actually mad at Larry King
The long-time host of "Larry King Live" passed away on January 23, 2021, at the age of 87, as reported by People. Upon hearing the news of Larry King's death, Jerry Seinfeld took to Twitter to express his grief and clear the air regarding that momentous 2007 interview. "Always loved Larry King and will miss him," Seinfeld tweeted. "The 'canceled' bit was just me having fun with his little mistake. Nothing more. Or less. #ripLarry."
Evidently, a number of fans didn't need this clarification from Seinfeld. @mike_kovacs commented, "Anybody that doesn't understand that Jerry was playing with Larry during that exchange has never seen a single episode of Seinfeld." Similarly, @jimclayohio wrote, "It was a fun and honest reaction @JerrySeinfeld, you can tell @kingsthings loved it. It is one of my favorite moments of the interviews he had done." In a heartwarming reply, @Lphs01 added, "Love you Jerry, and everyone who understands you and your brand understood that."
Just for the record, "Seinfeld" was certainly not canceled, at least in the common understanding of the term. According to Esquire, Seinfeld and his co-stars, Michael Richards, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Jason Alexander, all simply agreed it was time to end the series. The foursome wanted to go out on a high note, adored by audiences, rather than increase their already-hefty bank accounts and overstay their welcome. "I was at a point, we had done it for nine years and I realized I could go off the air right now and the show could be a legend," Seinfeld said. "I could be a legend of the sitcom world or I could make some more money."