Jerry Seinfeld was left dumbfounded when talk show host Larry King asked him in a 2007 interview about his namesake show, which ended in 1998.
“You gave it up, right? They didn’t cancel you? You cancelled them,” King had asked the actor, who was on the show to promote The Bee Movie.
He sat shocked for a second before he demanded of King, “You’re not aware of this? You think I got cancelled? You’re under the impression I got cancelled? I thought that was pretty well documented.”
NBC had reportedly begged Seinfeld to stay on, even offering him $US5 million (approx. $7.7 million) per episode. He refused, wanting to go out with a bang.
King then asked Seinfeld gently, ”Have I hurt you, Jerry?” but Seinfeld spoke over him, angrily asking, “Is this still CNN?”
King continued, “Don’t most shows go down a little?” to which Seinfeld replied, “Most people do also.”
Seinfeld continued to defend himself, saying, “When I went off the air, I was the No. 1 show on television, Larry.
“Do you know who I am? 75 million viewers [for] the last episode.”
King wrapped it up, saying “Boy, you take it so bad,” before apologising for the question. But Seinfeld wasn’t done, asking staff to get King a resumé of his work to go over during the break.
It wasn’t until King’s death in January 2021, 14 years after the on-air blunder, that the actor shared what really happened.
In a tribute posted to X, formerly Twitter, he wrote, “Always loved Larry King and will miss him. The ‘cancelled’ bit was just me having fun with his little mistake. Nothing more. Or less. #ripLarry.”