Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Jerry Seinfeld explains Kesha hug snub

Jerry Seinfeld

The Associated Press

Jerry Seinfeld.

NEW YORK — Jerry Seinfeld has explained that he won't hug "a total stranger," days after he denied pop singer Kesha a hug in an exchange that was caught on camera and went viral.

The video showed Kesha interrupting an interview Seinfeld was doing with a local news reporter ahead of an event in Washington on Monday. The singer wanted a hug from the comedian, but Seinfeld repeatedly declined, backing off and telling her, "no thanks." After she left, he told the interviewer he didn't know who she was.

Seinfeld tells "Extra" that at 63, he doesn't know who every pop star is and described his first-ever interaction with Kesha as "a little off."

He says he and Kesha "laughed" about the moment later, but he still didn't give her a hug.