Why Did Jerry Seinfeld Refuse to Hug Kesha When She Approached Him on the Red Carpet

As you may have heard or haven't, comedian Jerry Seinfeld had a bit of a run-in with singer Kesha at an event for the David Lynch Foundation. During the event, Seinfeld was busy answering questions for an interview with Tommy McFly, the host of Fresh FM's The Tommy Show in Washington D.C., when he was suddenly approached by Kesha.

The singer barged in mid-interview and asked Seinfeld to give her a hug, to which he politely refused. Kesha persisted, asking again, but was again denied a hug. She walked away disappointed but in the end, Seinfeld had his reasons for not hugging Kesha.

Jerry Seinfeld Has His Own Reasons For Not Wanting To Hug Kesha

To be clear, the reason why Seinfeld refused the hug wasn't because he didn't know who she was and had nothing to do with his standing or hers. Admittedly, Seinfeld even says he doesn't know who she was but that has nothing to do with why he didn't hug her. He simply didn't want to hug Kesha because he's known for being a germaphobe. Seinfeld has never explicitly said he suffers from any phobia but he's been reported to have reservations similar to someone afflicted with them. Meaning it shouldn't be a surprise to hear of Seinfeld refusing to hug someone.

For those who need an explanation, germaphobes tend to be weary of physical contact with others and tend to avoid making contact with any surfaces that could have been contaminated with bacteria. The medical term for this phobia, approved by physicians, has been deemed Mysophobia. It's defined as "the pathological fear of contamination and germs", which many celebrities like Howey Mandel have admitted to themselves.

Regardless of whether or not Seinfeld's afflicted with Mysophobia, he appears to physically distance himself from other artists, like Kesha who merely want a hug. To most, it may seem like a slight on Seinfeld's behalf to refuse a hug. But, that's merely what people see from first glance, when they don't know anything about Mysophobia or someone who could potentially be affected by it.

Isn't Every Person Entitled To Deciding Who They Hug?

Without inferring anything about Seinfeld himself, his apparent reservations about touching people gives him a reasonable explanation for not wanting to hug Kesha on the red carpet. We also need to remember that he's a human being, and like every other human being, is entitled to deciding whether or not to hug someone.

Regardless of whether you're a celebrity or some Joe-schmo off the street, if someone doesn't want to hug you, they shouldn't have to. More importantly, if someone refuses to give you a hug, you shouldn't take it personal—especially when the hug is from someone you don't know.

How Will Kesha and Seinfeld Respond to the Video?

Hopefully, Kesha understands this too and won't go out of her way to make a big deal out of Seinfeld refusing to hug her. Plus, it would be beneficial for Kesha to do a bit of research on why Seinfeld wouldn't give her a hug before going out and addressing her encounter with the comedian.

For now, let's just wait and see how/ if Seinfeld responds to the video himself. The clip is making the rounds as we speak, which means it shouldn't be too much longer before the comedian speaks out, addressing the matter. Then again, Jerry Seinfeld probably took the time to give Kesha a call, explaining the matter to her personally.

Presumably, he'd understand how the scene looks on camera, along with how people are responding to it, so to get out in front of the wave, Seinfeld probably asked Kesha to let their encounter gone wrong die down. That way, both of their reputations can be spared some of the negative feedback gained from this scene being blown out of proportion.

Keep in mind that the internet never lets anything go, so there's probably already too much momentum being made with the clip for Kesha and Seinfeld to not get some feedback from it. While small encounters like these usually get blown out of proportion they eventually lose steam and finally drop off the radar. Hopefully, that happens sooner rather than later with Seinfeld's unexpected encounter with Kesha.