Rob McElhenney dismisses Jerry Seinfeld “PC” sitcom comments

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia creator Rob McElhenney has responded to Jerry Seinfeld’s recent comments about what he perceives to be the “death” of comedy.

Seinfeld claimed in a recent interview with The New Yorker that comedy in television has been impacted by developing political correctness in society.

As reported by The Independent, Seinfeld blamed “the extreme left [and] PC crap and people worrying so much about offending other people” for the “death” of comedy.

The Seinfeld creator and star also claimed that jokes from his series wouldn’t be allowed to air today.

“[One would be] Kramer decides to start a business of having homeless people pull rickshaws because, as he says, ‘They’re outside anyway’,” said Seinfeld as an example. “Do you think I could get that episode on the air today?”

McElhenney has now responded to Seinfeld’s comments, making a reference to a character in It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia.

The actor responded to Seinfeld’s comments via X, with the one-word reply: “Probably.”

Probably. https://t.co/MosZE6EmcJ pic.twitter.com/lxHSXq7AKI

— Rob McElhenney (@RMcElhenney) April 30, 2024

Attached to his post was a picture of his sitcom’s long-running character Matthew “Rickety Cricket” Mara.

In Always Sunny, Rickety Cricket is an old school mate of the main cast. First seen onscreen as a priest, his character’s arc is shown through a series of interactions with the central characters, showing him on a downward spiral until he eventually becomes a homeless drug addict.

Some fans of the show agreed with McElhenney, with one writing: “Seinfeld walked so Rickety Cricket could run,” and another: “So funny to see people like him say “You can’t make a show like that today” as if It’s Always Sunny hasn’t been doing this shit for like 15 years and is still just funny as ever.”

So funny to see people like him say “You can’t make a show like that today.” as if It’s Always Sunny hasn’t been doing this shit for like 15 years and is still just funny as ever. If you punch up and not down people tend not to get mad at the jokes.

— Jort (@OsirisHK335) April 30, 2024

Didn’t you pull 5 episodes from streaming services because it offended people and then you dedicated a whole episode apologizing for said episodes??

— Layminator (@1ayminator) April 30, 2024

However, several users brought up the removal of some episodes of It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia. One user wrote: “Didn’t you pull five episodes from streaming services because it offended people and then you dedicated a whole episode apologising for said episodes??” while another said: “Yah but did you not have to get DeVito on the show just to avoid getting cancelled?”

Back in 2020, some episodes of the show were removed from streaming services due to two of the characters, including McElhenney’s ‘Mac’ wearing blackface. Danny DeVito, who plays Frank Reynolds, joined the show in 2006.

Elsewhere, Seinfeld has also shared how he believes the “movie business is over”.