Courtney Stodden addressed Seinfeld actor Jason Alexander’s apology and $15,000 nonprofit donation following backlash over an inappropriate 2012 comedy sketch. Stodden, who was 17 at the time of filming, praised the accountability and urged Alexander to support California’s AB 1267 to ban child marriage.
More than a decade after a controversial comedy video surfaced online, Courtney Stodden publicly thanked Jason Alexander for issuing a formal apology and making a substantial financial contribution to a prominent child advocacy organization. It took fourteen and a half years, but Jason Alexander finally apologized.
On Wednesday, the “Seinfeld” actor issued a public apology to Courtney Stodden for a “comedy” sketch the two filmed together wherein Alexander, who was 52 at the time, fondled a 17-year-old Stodden’s breasts with a cell phone and said that when she turned 18, he would take her behind the couch and have his way with her. Courtney Stodden took to Instagram to address Jason Alexander’s apology and $15,000 nonprofit donation over an “inappropriate” comedy sketch from 2012.
Stodden — who was just 16 when she tied the knot with then 51-year-old actor Doug Hutchinson in 2011 — wrote that she hopes the “Seinfeld” star’s apology and donation becomes the standard.
Stodden made an Instagram post recounting how “alone” and exploited she felt making that video. At the time, the media mainly treated Stodden as a punchline while failing to hold Hutchison accountable for his predation. Stodden tells Variety she was pleasantly surprised that Alexander took responsibility for his role in the disturbing sketch, which he also co-wrote.
The 2012 Funny or Die Sketch and Backlash
The Donny Clay Show with Courtney Stodden
The controversy stems from a parody of “Dr. Phil” dubbed The Donny Clay Show
with Alexander playing a creepy talk-show host, which was released in Jan. 2012 on the Funny or Die website and its YouTube channel (it has since been taken down). Stodden is featured in the video alongside Doug Hutchison, a journeyman actor who notoriously married her in 2011 when he was 51 and she only 16.
Stodden, who was 17 years old at the time of production, called out the actor via Instagram while looking back at the comedy sketch, which parodied daytime television and featured Alexander using a cell phone to assess the quality
of Stodden’s heart. I was 17 years old in this photo,
she wrote alongside a screenshot from the skit. “The older I get, the more impossible this is to understand. During this comedy sketch, 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.”
Alexander was listed as a writer of The Donny Clay Show with Courtney Stodden sketch where Alexander played the role of sleazy host Don Clay. Stodden’s then-husband, Doug Hutchison, also starred in the segment.
Jason Alexander’s Apology and Donation
Jason Alexander
Following public criticism, Alexander issued a direct statement acknowledging that the content was unacceptable. He addressed his regrets through a statement provided to Variety and Us.
“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,” Alexander said in a statement to Variety. “But more importantly, I am deeply sorry for any harm or distress it has caused Ms. Stodden. I offer her my sincerest apologies.”
Jason Alexander, actor
Alongside his public remarks, the Seinfeld star, 66, contributed $15,000 to Unchained At Last, an organisation to end child marriage and forced marriage, TMZ reported on Thursday. A rep for Alexander did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment on Saturday.
Stodden’s Response and Broader Advocacy
Unchained At Last
Courtney Stodden thanked Jason Alexander for his apology donation after she called him out for an “inappropriate” comedy sketch from 2012. I was grateful to learn Jason Alexander sent a beautiful gift to Unchained At Last,
Stodden wrote via Instagram on Friday, along with a photo of herself, referencing the nonprofit with a goal of ending forced and child marriage in the United States,
the organization’s website reads. Accountability isn’t about public punishment — it’s about taking meaningful steps that can help create change,
she said. My hope has always been bigger than my own story,
Stodden continued in the lengthy caption. If difficult conversations can lead to real support for organizations protecting children and ending child marriage, then something positive can come from something deeply painful.
Stodden, seen here in 2025, wrote that real change begins
when harm is acknowledged.
When harm is acknowledged, meaningful action has the power to help others. That’s how real change begins,
she wrote. Stodden is now 31 and divorced from Hutchison.