Courtney Stodden wants more from Seinfeld star Jason Alexander after he apologized for groping her breasts when she was underage.
The 31-year-old told Variety on Wednesday that she was “very surprised” that Alexander, 66, apologized for the 2012 skit because “I haven’t heard a lot of adults take responsibility.”
“When I first heard the news that he had publicly apologized, I was grateful because I think that’s the first step toward change,” Stodden continued.
But Mr Stodden believes it would be “even better” if Mr Alexander showed “action”, such as supporting anti-child marriage laws and organizations.
She specifically supported California Assembly Bill AB 1267, which would ban child marriage, and urged people to donate to Unchained at Last, a nonprofit organization working to end child marriage.
Stodden, who famously was underage when she married 51-year-old actor Doug Hutchinson in 2011, said it was “truly scary” that California allows underage marriage.
Earlier this week, Stodden blasted Alexander for a controversial 2012 Funny or Die skit in which Alexander, wearing a skimpy bikini, repeatedly rubbed a cell phone against Stodden’s chest.
“Looking back on it now, it doesn’t feel like a comedy,” Stodden wrote on Instagram on Monday. “I see a 17-year-old girl who became part of an adult joke.”
In response, Alexander told Page Six that he “genuinely regrets” taking part in the “inappropriate” sketch.
“But more importantly, we deeply apologize for the harm and distress caused to Mr. Stodden.” “I sincerely apologize to her.”
Stodden told Variety that years later, after watching the scene in Pretty Woman where Alexander’s character assaults prostitute Vivian Ward, played by Julia Roberts, she realized she was offended by the sketch.
“I was shocked,” Stodden said of seeing the scene. “It felt very familiar. It was like he stepped out of ‘Pretty Woman’ and thought it would be fun to recreate that with kids. I didn’t know he would feel me on set.”
Stodden added that when she was still a “kid” she was “very manipulated” into being molested in skits.
“I really trusted the adults around me, and this is an effect of that,” she shared. “Looking back, it was really damaging.”
In a statement to Page Six about the sketch, Stodden said her reason for talking about her experience with Alexander was “not to revisit the past for its own sake.”
Instead, Stodden said her goal is to “create a future where children are better protected and adults in positions of power are held to higher standards.”
