Jerry Seinfeld Clarifies Autism Comment: ‘I Don’t Have Autism’
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Jemal Countess/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — It turns out Jerry Seinfeld doesn’t have autism, as he told NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams a couple of weeks ago.
The comedian clarified his comments in an interview with Access Hollywood’s Billy Bush on Wednesday.
“I don’t have autism, I’m not on the spectrum,” Seinfeld told Bush. “I just was watching a play about it and…I related to it on some level…that’s all I was saying,” he explained.
Seinfeld, 60, stirred up controversy when he told Williams, “I think, on a very drawn-out scale, I think I’m on the spectrum.”
He continued, “Basic social engagement is really a struggle. I’m very literal, when people talk to me and they use expressions, sometimes I don’t know what they’re saying.”
Some people have criticized Seinfeld’s self-diagnosis, claiming it makes autism sound fashionable and may possibly lead to others to use the developmental disorder as an excuse for aggravating and quirky behavior.
Seinfeld is currently starring in his own Internet series, Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.
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