Courtney Stodden urges Jason Alexander to back child marriage ban
After Alexander apologized for a 2012 sketch, Stodden told Variety she wants support for California’s AB 1267 and Unchained at Last.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
3 min read
Courtney Stodden says Jason Alexander’s public apology over a 2012 Funny or Die sketch should be followed by action: support for a California bill that would set 18 as the minimum age for marriage.
Alexander, the “Seinfeld” actor, apologized Wednesday in a statement to Variety for the sketch, which featured him with Stodden when she was 17. Alexander was 52 at the time.
In the video, according to Variety, Alexander played a disturbing talk-show host in a “Dr. Phil” parody called “The Donny Clay Show.” The sketch included Alexander touching Stodden’s breasts with a cell phone and making a sexual remark about what he would do when she turned 18. The video, released in January 2012 on Funny or Die’s site and YouTube channel, has since been removed.
Alexander told Variety that, looking back, he agreed the sketch was inappropriate and regretted taking part. He also apologized to Stodden for harm or distress caused by it.
Stodden wants the apology turned into action
Stodden, now 31, told Variety she was grateful that Alexander accepted responsibility, calling it a first step. She also said she wants him to back AB 1267, the California measure aimed at ending child marriage, or donate to Unchained at Last.
Stodden has recently worked with Unchained at Last, which Variety described as the only nonprofit in the U.S. dedicated to ending child marriage. The group is pushing for AB 1267, which would make 18 the legal minimum age to marry in California.
Stodden told Variety it was frightening that California has no minimum marriage age. She said only Mississippi and New Mexico also allow that.
The sketch also included Doug Hutchison, the actor who married Stodden in 2011 when he was 51 and she was 16. Variety reported that Stodden is now divorced from Hutchison.
Revisiting old TV moments
Stodden told Variety she did not fully process the sketch until years later, after watching “Pretty Woman” and seeing Alexander’s character assault Julia Roberts’ character in a hotel room scene. Stodden said the scene felt close to home and said she did not know Alexander would touch her on set.
Stodden said she had trusted the adults around her and now sees the experience as damaging. She told Variety her focus is on changing conditions for minors so they do not go through similar experiences.
Stodden also discussed other public treatment she faced as a teenager. Variety noted that Chrissy Teigen previously apologized publicly for cyberbullying Stodden. Stodden said Dr. Drew Pinsky has not apologized for a segment on “Lifechangers” in which, when Stodden was 16, he performed an ultrasound on Stodden’s breasts to show they were real.
According to Variety, Stodden and other survivors connected to Unchained at Last plan to return to the California State Capitol next month to speak with lawmakers about ending child marriage. Stodden is also working on a memoir and may take part in a docuseries about that fight.
This story draws on original reporting from Variety.