Jerry Seinfeld Addresses Scientology Affiliation Claims

The Church of Scientology, which is arguably no more or less a cult than any other religion, can't claim Jerry Seinfeld as a member.

The comedian, whose new special 23 Hours to Kill hit Netflix last month, briefly addressed matters of L. Ron Hubbardism during his interview with Marc Maron this week.

After speaking on how comedy alone can be "spiritually satisfying," Seinfeld—who notes that he doesn't consider himself a follower of any religion—was asked why everyone says that he was "once" a Scientologist.

"I did do a course in Scientology in, like, '75 … in New York," Seinfeld said around 64 minutes into his WTF discussion with Maron. "Found it very interesting, never pursued it." And while Seinfeld never got deeper into his Scientology bag, he did—as he explained to Maron—take away something of value.

"An emphasis on ethical behavior, which I liked," he said. "The emphasis on that, that was a big thing, I would say."

For what it's worth, the whole Jerry Seinfeld x Scientology theory appears to have kicked off by way of Bobcat Goldthwait, with whom Seinfeld isn't exactly BFF's.

As Uproxx points out, Goldthwait described Seinfeld to the Spokesman-Review way back in 1995 as "this creepy Scientologist guy (dating) teenage girls." Years later, Seinfeld would explain his own dislike of Goldthwait during an extended sequence on Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, the interview series he hosts in which comedians do in fact get into cars and procure coffee.