Is there something wrong with the “Seinfeld” line, “Not that there’s anything wrong with that”?
The deep philosophical question took up an hour of arguments in a Manhattan courtroom Wednesday between lawyers for an LA comedian and the real-life inspiration for the classic sitcom’s Cosmo Kramer character, who is suing him over the line.
“The episode is about straight people being homophobic and trying to use that line. It’s a groundbreaking episode that pokes fun and analyzes homophobia, changing social mores and political correctness,” insisted attorney David Albert Pierce.
Pierce is fighting a $1 million defamation lawsuit filed by Kenny Kramer against his client, comedian Fred Stoller. Kramer, the oddball pal of show creators Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David, sued Stoller last year for portraying him as a gay-bashing hack in his book, “Maybe We’ll Have You Back: The Life of a Perennial TV Guest Star.”
In the tome, Stoller accuses tour guides on Kramer’s popular Manhattan bus ride, “Kramer’s Reality Tour,” of yelling, “Not that there’s anything wrong with that” in the famously gay-friendly neighborhood of Greenwich Village.
The February 1993 “Seinfeld” episode “The Outing” involves an erroneous NYU newspaper article that says Jerry Seinfeld and his pal George Costanza are a gay couple. Whenever either one insists they are not gay, they add the tag line, “Not that there’s anything wrong with that.”
Kramer’s attorney, Fred Lichtmacher, who astonishingly admitted he’s only ever seen one episode of “Seinfeld” — and not even the segment in question — was dead serious in defense of the defamation suit.
“It’s a disgusting, hateful thing,” Lichtmacher said. “There’s a statement here that could destroy this man’s business.”
Justice Barbara Jaffe interrupted, asking Lichtmacher to confirm that the tour was in an enclosed, air-conditioned bus so passersby wouldn’t actually be able to hear the taunts.
Lichtmacher acquiesced on the point but then said, “What if there’s gay people on the bus?”
But the judge came back, wondering, “What about the audience? Can we assume it’s strictly ‘Seinfeld’ fans who get it, who understand what it’s all about?”
That’s when Lichtmacher admitted he wasn’t a fan of the show.
“I’m glad Kramer’s not here, he’d be upset and Larry David would be very, very upset,” the attorney quipped.
Stoller’s attorney closed the hearing by dissing his adversary’s points.
“It’s such a strained and artificial construction to say all of this is taunting of gays,” Pierce said.
The judge said she would issue a decision in the coming weeks, joking that the hearing was “not dull.”
Outside court, Pierce told The Post that legal fees have pushed Stoller, who once hosted Kramer at his Manhattan apartment as a favor to David, to near-financial ruin.
“It’s a frivolous case,” Pierce said. “Talk about life imitating art. This is far more frivolous than any cases the character Kramer has ever brought.”