Howard Stern has responded to Jerry Seinfeld's comments about his lack of "comedy chops."
Last week Seinfeld, 70, issued an apology to Stern for his remarks made during a recent appearance on David Spade and Dana Carvey's "Fly on the Wall" podcast. In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, the comedian admitted he felt "really" bad for implying that his "friend" was not funny.
Stern broke his silence Monday on "The Howard Stern Show," saying that Seinfeld had "apologized for a really long time, and he said it really came out wrong," according to the New York Post.
"Jerry had said that basically I'm an interviewer and that I'm not a comedian, and that now comedians have podcasts and comedians are, you know, funnier or something than me," Stern said. "I read it, and I went, 'Oh, that's weird,' because Jerry is a personal friend of ours. Especially his wife, Jessica [Seinfeld], is really good friends with Beth [Stern]."
Stern explained that Seinfeld called him "immediately" to apologize for his comments.
"I said 'Jerry, you don't even have to — please. This is embarrassing. I'm the king of going on the air and having millions of regrets afterward. Apology accepted, I don't care. And you know what? If I'm not a comedian, I'm an interviewer. I don't know what I am. I always considered myself a bit of a comedian, but whatever it is, don't worry about it,'" he explained.
During his appearance on the "Fly on the Wall" podcast, Seinfeld stated that although Stern was "interesting" and "a great interviewer" he lacked "comedy chops," adding "he's been outflanked" by other comedians.
Stern revealed that, following his remarks, Seinfeld even asked to appear on his SiriusXM radio show to apologize there, but Stern declined.
"I said, 'Not necessary, I don't wanna get into it. It's awkward, it's fine,'" Stern explained. "I said, 'I've had to apologize to you for s [expletive] I've said. I've had to call up people and apologize for [expletive] I've done on the air when I'm a huge fan of these people. I don't know what gets into me, I [expletive] up sometimes."
He added: "So it wasn't really that big a deal. I didn't really think much about it."