Jerry Seinfeld and "genocidal enjoyment"

At comedian Jerry Seinfeld's recent show in Chicago, an audience member shouted about Gaza, "Twenty-two thousand Palestinians who are children now are killed with our taxpayer money, and you're making jokes?!"

The comedian then began dancing on stage and mockingly declared, “I am a racist. It’s a genocide. I’m into it,” before saying, “I’m gonna find out how much your ticket was, and I’m sending it to Israel.”

Seinfeld, an outspoken supporter of Israel, previously stated, “I don’t care about Palestine,” and that "It doesn't exist."

In their journal article, "Genocidal Enjoyment: On the Weaponization of Joyful Cruelty and 'Dark Fun' during Israel’s Genocide in Gaza," sociologists Raúl Pérez and Charles Thorpe define genocidal enjoyment as “the weaponized use of joyful cruelty in the service of state violence” against a dehumanized community.

One example cited is the propaganda channel, “72 Virgins-Uncensored,” which was operated on the social media platform Telegram by members of the Israeli Defense Forces' Influencing Department. Its target audience was Israeli citizens, and the channel showed videos and posted photos celebrating and mocking the death and abuse of Palestinians.

According to the authors, genocidal enjoyment bonds soldiers and supporters through shared pleasure, reinforcing moral hierarchies and portraying the targets of state violence as moral outsiders.

Seinfeld’s actions demonstrated genocidal enjoyment. Cruelty was made to feel like camaraderie, and Palestinian suffering was made to seem like a fitting subject for laughter.

Terry Hansen