For Millennials. By Millennials.
Chris D’Elia is in the news for all the wrong reasons right now. He is accused of grooming and sexually harassing multiple underage girls. And it is especially ironic, as he played a pedophile on two separate shows. But, there was another comedian who once dated an underage girl quite publically – Jerry Seinfeld. However, he never got canceled, even though he is literally the richest comedian in the world. Why is that so?
When Seinfeld dated an underage girl out in the open!
To jog your memory, here’s a recap. This happened back in 1993 when Jerry Seinfeld was at the peak of his popularity. He dated a 17-year-old minor named Shoshanna Lonstein while being 38 years old himself! That put the two at a 21 year age difference. Seinfeld found Lonstein in Central Park New York when she was literally a schoolgirl. That’s how young she was back then.
And it’s not like it was a one-time thing. Their relationship lasted for over 4 years, and their picture featured on the cover of People Weekly. She did so much for Jerry Seinfeld that she even transferred from Washington University in DC to UCLA in Los Angeles just to be close to him.
But again, it was no secret. Howard Stern famously made a song mocking Jerry Seinfeld too. And it’s lyrics are such that we can’t mention them in this article. So, here’s a link to the song:
However, apart from some mockery and a few jokes, that’s about all the outrage that Jerry Seinfeld got. That is in stark contrast to how Chris D’Elia is being treated for doing something similar.
Accusations on Chris D’Elia
There’s a reason why Jerry Seinfeld is trending on social media again. Another comedian recently got canceled for doing the exact same thing he did. Twitter user Simone Rossi publically accused Chris D’Elia of grooming her when she was just 16 years old:
imagine getting owned by a 16 year old pic.twitter.com/wKTSx6ie5S
— simonekathleeen (@girlpowertbh) June 16, 2020
Moreover, Chris D’Elia even asked her “Can we make out?”. Imagine asking that from a 16-year-old! Moreover, other women also came forward, with a woman revealing that she was 19 when Chris D’Elia messaged her, asking her to talk privately. He even offered to fly her out to LA. Various other women are coming forward with their stories, and it’s honestly creepy. But, not as creepy as Jerry Seinfeld actually dating an underage girl and then being with her for four years!
Chris D’Elia denied the accusations, as expected, but his employers are severing their ties with him. CAA, his agency, has fired him and Comedy Central removed his pedophile episode from “Workaholics”, amid the accusations. But that raises a very important question.
Why didn’t everyone cancel Jerry Seinfeld like Chris D’Elia?
Now, this fact about Jerry Seinfeld crops up every few years. But, he never really faced any serious public outcry or any damage to his reputation. On the other hand, Chris D’Elia is pretty much losing his livelihood. Now, I want to be sure again that this is not an apologetic piece for Chris D’Elia. He is getting what he deserves. Instead, I want to ask the question that why isn’t Jerry Seinfeld facing any consequences for dating a minor? His wallet and career have faced no damage at all. In fact, only Bobcat Goldthwait ended his friendship with Seinfeld over dating Shoshanna Lonstein.
It seems like there is more public outrage over cases where the minor didn’t give any consent. It’s like people have an issue only when the encounter is non-consensual. A minor’s consent is invalid, regardless of how many times she said yes. What’s the point of consent laws? A minor cannot give legal consent, no matter what! Even if Seinfeld never had intercourse with her when she was underaged, he still groomed her till she was 18. Only then did he make the relationship public, and that is not okay by any means.
How minors are easily groomed and manipulated
Minors are in prime position to be groomed and taken advantage of by adults with extreme power and wealth. They use the same tactics everywhere, by making them feel special and being more mature than their age. They isolate them from their families and friends and manipulate the minor to rely on them. And considering how Shoshanna Lonstein transferred her credits from Washington DC to LA for Seinfeld, it seems like he groomed and isolated her as well.
Of course, this isn’t as bad as sexual assault or rape, like Bill Cosby did. However, Jerry Seinfeld behaved like a real sexual predator, much like Chris D’Elia. So the question simply remains that when will society, Hollywood, and everyone else publically condemn Jerry Seinfeld? I don’t know if any legal actions could take place against him because it will be difficult to prove Lonstein was 17 at the time, and of course the Statute of Limitations. But, it feels very wrong that someone as powerful and influential as Jerry Seinfeld got out of it all scot-free.
