Jerry Seinfeld Apologizes For Claiming He’s “Better Than” Howard Stern: “Please Forgive Me”

Jerry Seinfeld has issued an apology after he publicly criticized Howard Stern‘s radio show and “comedy chops” in a recent podcast interview.

The comedian, who has been promoting his live-action directorial debut Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story, apologized in a statement to TMZ after he claimed that Stern’s show was “outflanked” by podcasts such as Dana Carvey and David Spade‘s Fly on the Wall.

“I really feel bad for what I said about my friend Howard Stern in a conversation with David Spade and Dana Carvey, talking about the glut of comedy podcasts,” he told TMZ. He also admitted that the statements he made on Fly on the Wall “sounded terrible and insulting.”

Seinfeld had been speaking to Carvey and Spade about the boom comedy podcasts have seen in recent years, noting, “Howard Stern invented this, right?”

“But we’re better than him now,” Seinfeld continued. “Howard is interesting. Howard is a great interviewer, but comedy chops, I mean, can we speak candidly?”

Though Spade gave him the go ahead, Carvey was the one to respond, “No!”

Either way, Seinfeld continued sharing his thoughts on Stern’s particular style of comedy: “Well, he got Robin, and Robin is a big part of how he’s funny,” referring to Stern’s co-host Robin Quivers.

“Yeah, they’re all great but let’s face it, he’s been outflanked by some very, and yourselves, I mean absolutely, this show, comedy podcast? This is the best one on the air,” Seinfeld said. “Because you guys play nice together, it’s smooth, you’re not jumping on each other, which is annoying to listen to.”

Seinfeld walked these statements back in his apology to TMZ, clarifying that he “meant to say he must feel surrounded, but I said ‘outflanked,’ which sounded terrible and insulting.”

He added, “And of course, none of these little shows are any threat to his giant show. Anyway, it was bad and I’m sorry, Howie. I still love you. Please forgive me.”

Stern has been hosting radio since the ’70s but gained notoriety on his nationally syndicated radio broadcast, The Howard Stern Show. He has been hosting the show with SiriusXM since 2006, where he’s interviewed several celebs, from President Joe Biden to John Cena and more.

Seinfeld has been openly criticizing much of the comedy industry during his recent press tour.

He recently claimed that TV comedy is dead, blaming “the extreme left [and] PC crap and people worrying so much about offending other people.”