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In addition to calling out the prevalence of child marriage loopholes in America and beyond, Courtney Stodden is taking it further.
There are wildly inappropriate moments from her own teens when her status as a child bride was played for laughs — while her body was sexualized.
One moment, she says, dates back to a sketch that highlighted her breasts when she was only 17.
The actor who shared the stage with her, Jason Alexander, has given a public response.
‘The older I get, the more impossible this is to understand’
In 2012, Courtney was only 17 when she appeared in a Funny or Die sketch alongside Seinfeld alum Jason Alexander.
Earlier this week, she shared a throwback screenshot on her Instagram page alongside a caption.
“I was 17 years old in this photo,” Courtney began. “The older I get, the more impossible this is to understand.”
She explained: “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.”
Courtney’s age was also a factor, as she wrote: “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.”
“IMDb credits him as one of the writers of the episode,” Courtney noted.
“As an adult, that fact has become harder — not easier — for me to understand,” she reasoned.
“I was a minor,” Courtney emphasized. “I didn’t have the legal power to decide whether I wanted to participate. The contracts were signed by adults. The paycheck went to Doug.”
She continued: “The production moved forward. I was the only child in the room. I felt so alone.”
Courtney reflected: “Looking back now, I don’t see comedy. I see a 17-year-old girl whose body became part of an adult joke.”
‘How did so many adults look at a minor and decide this was acceptable?’
“People still say, ‘You chose to be there.’ Legally, I couldn’t make those decisions for myself,” Courtney explained.
“That’s the point,” she highlighted.
“I can’t change what happened to me,” Courtney acknowledged. “But I can ask myself: How did so many adults look at a minor and decide this was acceptable?”
She affirmed: “That’s exactly why I speak out today. Children deserve laws that protect them.”
Courtney concluded: “They shouldn’t have to become adults before realizing the law should have protected them all along.”
Courtney is, of course, absolutely right. And it also makes sense that time has not made this make more sense.
When you’re 20, a 17-year-old is a minor but likely also a peer. Perhaps a former classmate. When you’re in your 30s, a 17-year-old is close to half your age and you can recall how grown up you felt at that age while also appreciating the context of how naive that worldview was.
By the way, Jason Alexander spoke to Page Six in a statement that fully acknowledged and apologized for the skit.
“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,” he began.
“But more importantly, I am deeply sorry for any harm or distress it has caused Ms. Stodden,” Alexander continued. “I offer her my sincerest apologies.”
Resolving to be a better person than you were in the past and apologizing for past mistakes is, sometimes, all that one can do. And, of course, passing more laws to protect more children — from child marriage and from other forms of exploitation.
