Jason Alexander has publicly apologized to Courtney Stodden after the former teen reality figure criticized him over a sexualized Funny or Die sketch they appeared in together in 2012, when Stodden was 17 and the Seinfeld actor was 52.
Stodden, who is now 31, was under intense tabloid attention at the time, facing widespread public judgment over her controversial age-gap marriage to The Green Mile actor Doug Hutchison.
The pair married when Stodden was 16 and Hutchison was 50. Their marriage ended in divorce in 2020.
In an Instagram post shared Monday, Stodden revisited the 2012 comedy sketch by posting a screenshot featuring Alexander, now 66, holding a cellphone near the chest of the bikini-wearing teenager.
‘I was 17 years old in this photo. The older I get, the more impossible this is to understand,’ Stodden wrote.
Stodden emphasized in the post that she was ‘a minor’ when the segment was filmed, adding that she remembered feeling ‘so alone’ despite being surrounded by adults on set.
‘How did so many adults look at a minor and decide this was acceptable?’ she asked.
As Stodden’s comments gained traction online, Alexander — who both appeared in and co-wrote the disputed Funny or Die sketch — responded with a public apology, saying he regretted taking part in what he described as an ‘inappropriate’ segment.
Courtney Stodden has called out Jason Alexander over a sexualized Funny or Die sketch they starred in together in 2012 when she was just 17 and he was 52. Pictured in January
Stodden posted a screenshot from the sketch with Alexander that showed him holding a cellphone next to her breast as she posed in a bikini
‘Looking back at the comedy sketch in which Ms. Stodden and I participated in 2012, I completely agree that it was inappropriate and I truly regret it,’ the Seinfeld alum said in a statement to Page Six on Tuesday.
‘But more importantly, I am deeply sorry for any harm or distress it has caused Ms. Stodden. I offer her my sincerest apologies.’
Stodden began Monday’s Instagram post by describing the sexual circumstances in the ‘comedy sketch,’ as she was clad in a red bikini while Alexander acted alongside her in a coat and shirt.
‘Jason Alexander repeatedly rubbed his phone across my breasts while saying there was “no signal” in my head but “plenty of signal” in my chest. Later in the sketch, he joked that when I turned 18 he’d like to take me behind the couch and “have his way” with me,’ she wrote.
Stodden then pointed out that Alexander received an IMDb credit as one of the writers of the sketch, which she says has become ‘harder’ over time ‘to understand’ as she is now an adult.
‘I was a minor. I didn’t have the legal power to decide whether I wanted to participate. The contracts were signed by adults,’ she said.
She claimed that the payment for her work on the project went to then husband Hutchison.
ALSO READ: Dem-Backed Project 2029 Plans Sweeping Tech Crackdown, Setting Up Silicon Valley Clash
After Stodden’s post went viral, Seinfeld alum Alexander, 66, issued a public apology expressing his ‘regret’ over the skit. Pictured in 2023
Stodden said that in hindsight, she doesn’t find any comedic value in the sketch she did with Alexander.
‘Children deserve laws that protect them,’ Stodden said. ‘They shouldn’t have to become adults before realizing the law should have protected them all along.’
When contacted by the Daily Mail on Tuesday, Stodden’s representative declared that the star ‘has pretty much said all she can about this situation already.’
‘She did want to mention that she wasn’t made aware of what the scene included before arriving. She was informed on set what her role was going to be. She was only told to bring a swimsuit.’
Stodden’s rep then acknowledged Alexander’s apology before taking aim at another TV star who was in Stodden’s orbit during her headline making years as a teen bride.
‘The biggest surprise isn’t Jason Alexander’s apology. It’s that an actor has shown more accountability than Dr Drew who inserted himself into my story. A child should have been protected.’
Stodden, in an Instagram post last month, also alluded to a televised incident involving Dr Drew Pinsky.
Stodden was the target of tabloid scrutiny and public shaming due to her marriage to The Green Mile actor Doug Hutchison when she was 16 and he was 50. Pictured in 2012
‘Children deserve laws that protect them,’ Stodden, now 31, said. ‘They shouldn’t have to become adults before realizing the law should have protected them all along.’ Pictured in 2025
‘Dr. Drew had me on his show when I was 16 and had me undergo an ultrasound to see if my breasts were real or if I was lying about my breasts. I was an underage girl,’ Stodden said in her post.
‘I was a minor trapped in a situation that I wasn’t able to get out of legally. I had no rights at the time. The money he paid me to be on the show went straight to my abuser.’
According to US Weekly, Stodden subsequently posted a screenshot from Dr Drew’s spouse Susan Pinsky that read, ‘I would love to talk to her on Ask Drew. If @courtneystodden wants to duke it out with Dr. Drew.’
The Daily Mail has reached out to representatives for Stodden, Alexander, Hutchison and Pinsky for further comment on the story but has yet to hear back.
