Courtney Stodden reacts to Jason Alexander’s apology for ‘inappropriate’ sketch, hopes it ‘leads to action’

Shelby StivaleThu, July 23, 2026 at 7:52 PM UTC

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Courtney Stodden; Jason AlexanderCredit: Unique Nicole/Getty; Amanda Edwards/GettyKey Takeaways -

Courtney Stodden responded to Jason Alexander’s recent apology in a statement to EW.

The model hopes that this situation will bring change and awareness to ending child marriage.

Stodden and Alexander appeared together in a 2012 Funny or Die sketch that recently resurfaced.

Courtney Stodden hopes that Jason Alexander’s public apology will result in change.

“I appreciated Jason Alexander’s public apology because accountability matters. But the most meaningful apologies lead to action,” Stodden told Entertainment Weekly in a statement on Thursday. “If this conversation encourages support for AB 1267 and the work Unchained At Last is doing to end child marriage, then something positive can come from something that should never have happened.”

She added, “This has never been about one person for me—it’s about making sure children are better protected going forward.”

Stodden has been an outspoken advocate for AB 1267, a California Assembly bill aimed at permanently banning child marriage by setting the minimum age to 18, and Unchained At Last, a nonprofit organization dedicated to ending forced and child marriage in the U.S. The model was previously married to Doug Hutchinson, whom she wed at age 16.

Stodden has been making headlines recently alongside Seinfeldalum Alexander after their 2012 Funny or Die sketch resurfaced on social media. Stodden shared a screenshot from the video earlier this week, explaining in a lengthy Instagram caption that Alexander had “repeatedly rubbed his phone across my breasts.” The model noted that she was only 17 at the time it was filmed. Stodden called out the adults who deemed the sketch “acceptable” to film.

“Looking back at the comedy sketch in which Ms. Stodden and I participated in 2012, I completely agree that it was inappropriate and I truly regret it,” Alexander said in a statement to EW. “But more importantly, I am deeply sorry for any harm or distress it has caused Ms. Stodden. I offer her my sincerest apologies.”

Courtney Stodden in 2025Credit: Randy Shropshire/Getty

Stodden told Variety on Wednesday that she was surprised by Alexander’s public apology.

“I’m very taken aback that an adult was actually able to take accountability because I haven’t heard a lot of adults take accountability,” Stodden shared. “When I first got word that he publicly apologized I was grateful because I think that’s the first step in change.”

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Stodden urged Alexander to take the next step by supporting AB 1267 and Unchained at Last.

“It’s really frightening that there’s no minimum age for someone to get married in California,” Stodden continued. “There are only two other states that allow this, Mississippi and New Mexico, and to think that California allows this is shocking.”

Stodden explained in her statement that watching Pretty Womanmade her reflect on the sketch with Alexander, specifically the scene where Alexander’s character, Philip Stuckey, attempts to assault Julia Roberts’ Vivian Ward.

“I was in shock,” Stodden said of the scene. “It felt very close to home, and like he pulled from Pretty Woman and thought it would be funny to recreate that with a child. I didn’t know he was going to be feeling me up on set.”

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Stodden noted that she felt “manipulated” by the entire experience.

“Even if I didn’t look like a child, or what a ‘victim’ should look like, there was a child buried under there. I really just trusted the adults around me, and this is the effect of that,” she added. “Looking back on it, it’s really damaging. This isn’t about revisiting my past but changing the experiences for minors going forward so they don’t have to experience what I had to experience.”

on Entertainment Weekly

Original Article on Source

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