Jerry Seinfeld On Women In Comedy: "I Don't Think There Are Any Barriers"

The comedian told BuzzFeed India that good humour is "always welcome," and that when the material is funny enough, "nobody cares who it's coming from."

Ahead of his two shows in Mumbai this weekend, Jerry Seinfeld spoke to BuzzFeed India about comedy and the specific issues surrounding it in the subcontinent.

When asked about comedy as an accessible career for women, he said:

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"I think comedy has its own laws, and we don't need any others," he told BuzzFeed India in a phone-call. "Comedy penetrates everything. If someone is funny, it's so refreshing and it stands out so much, even in the world of comedy itself."

He added, "It's so rare and it's so hard to find a new light of humour, nobody cares who it's coming from or where it's coming from. If someone comes along and they're really funny, it's always welcome."

"At least I can speak for American culture and I'm sure India is relatively the same," he added. While acknowledging that mainstream comedy has "mostly been populated by men," Seinfeld said, "I don't think there are any barriers to women."

Seinfeld's casual take on a talkshow, Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee, came under fire in past years for featuring mostly white male guests (including in all of its first ten episodes).

Crackle / Via comediansincarsgettingcoffee.com

When asked about the lack of diversity in a BuzzFeed interview in Feb. 2014, Seinfeld said, "Who cares? Funny is the world that I live in. You're funny, I'm interested. You're not funny, I'm not interested. I have no interest in gender or race or anything like that."

The only path to success in comedy, he told BuzzFeed India on Tuesday, is to relentlessly create new material until some of it is good.

"No days off," he advised. "When I started, it was seven days a week for months and years at a time. There's a lot to learn. Like any skill, it's very difficult."

"Comedy is not very traditional anywhere, and any time a young person tells their parents they want to be a stand-up comedian, they're going to get a very surprised reaction," he said.

When asked if comedians bear a responsibility to influence society positively, he said they don't.

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"I don't think comedians have ever changed anything," he explained, pointing to Tina Fey's impression of Sarah Palin as a rare exception. "That actually had an effect on the presidential elections here in the United States in 2008. It was such a hilariously mocking impression that it may have done something."

But he maintained that "comedy is its own island in the stream" for the most part. "The role of comedy is just to put a smile on your face, and that's a pretty important job," Seinfeld added.

Details of Jerry Seinfeld’s upcoming shows in Mumbai can be found on Insider.in.