Courtney Stodden said she doesn’t feel “closure” after her decision to call out Seinfeld star Jason Alexander produced results, but she hopes it sends a message.
“I do believe actions speak louder than words,” Stodden, 31, told the Daily Beast after Alexander publicly apologized for a 2012 sketch in which his character groped her when she was 17.
He then put his money where his mouth was by donating to her chosen organization.
“I hope this becomes an example for others who have publicly participated in or defended the sexualization of minors,” Stodden continued. “Accountability isn’t about protecting reputations—it’s about helping protect children.”
Stodden also said that she hopes Alexander’s actions will be an example to two people in particular. “That’s a lesson I think people like Dr. Drew and Chrissy Teigen could reflect on.”
Last week, the star, who rose to fame at 16 years old in 2011 for marrying then 51-year-old actor Doug Hutchison, slammed Alexander for his portrayal of a creepy TV host on Funny or Die’s The Donny Clay Show, where Stodden and Hutchison made guest appearances.
“I was 17 years old in this photo,” she wrote on Instagram next to a screengrab, which showed Alexander “rubbing his phone across my breasts.”
She added, “Later in the sketch, he joked that when I turned 18 he’d like to take me behind the couch and ‘have his way’ with me,” and, “I was a minor. I didn’t have the legal power to decide whether I wanted to participate.”
Stodden has claimed that her ex-husband, Hutchison, whom she divorced in 2020, subjected her to “emotional and verbal abuse” during their nine-year marriage. (Hutchison denies the accusations and her characterization of their marriage.)
Reacting to the post, Alexander told the Daily Beast, “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. But more importantly, I am deeply sorry for any harm or distress it has caused Ms. Stodden. I offer her my sincerest apologies.”
After Stodden stated that true “accountability” would look like a donation to Unchained, an organization that works to ban child marriage in the U.S., Alexander donated $15,000 to the cause, according to TMZ.
Stodden’s approval of the move led to her slamming Dr. Drew—the TV personality who had the teen on his show for an ultrasound to prove her breasts were real in 2011.
“I was a minor trapped in a situation that I wasn’t able to get out of legally. I had no rights at the time. The money he paid me to be on the show went straight to my abuser,” Stodden wrote in a post from June 26 with a screengrab of the show. She added, “Dr. Drew, what made you think this was a good idea? As a doctor, did you think this was actually healthy for a little girl to experience? Did you even care?”
The Daily Beast has reached out to a representative for Drew Pinsky for comment. Stodden told Variety, “Dr. Drew actually doubled down and had his wife sarcastically invite me on his podcast to further exploit me.” She added, referencing Alexander, “Getting an apology from an actor and not a doctor is kind of diabolical.”
Her scathing comments about Chrissy Teigen stem from the star’s admitted online “bullying” of Stodden during her early rise to fame. When Stodden called Teigen out in a profile for the Daily Beast in 2021, Teigen wrote in a since-deleted social media post, “I’m so sorry, Courtney. I hope you can heal now knowing how deeply sorry I am. And I am so sorry I let you guys down. I will forever work on being better than I was 10 years ago, 1 year ago, 6 months ago.”
Stodden responded to the public apology at the time, writing, “All of me wants to believe this is a sincere apology, but it feels like a public attempt to save her partnerships with Target and other brands who are realizing her ‘wokeness’ is a broken record.”
She added, “I have never heard from her or her camp in private.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to a representative for Teigen for comment.
