Even though Seinfeld is one of the most iconic sitcoms of all time, it is also known as one of the most controversial. Having been created decades ago, it is only natural that the series was a product of its time, and its portrayal of certain minorities would not be up to the standards that Hollywood is held to today.
However, during its run, the series took its jokes so far that it even sparked controversy among audiences three decades ago. Casual racism was often used as the punch line in the series, with episodes like The Soup Nazi and The Chinese Restaurant being excellent examples.
Even though these two episodes have caused some of the most disagreement, there is another that was so controversial, that it has been removed from the syndication by NBC.
Seinfeld — The Puerto Rican Day
The 20th episode is the ninth season of Seinfeld titled, The Puerto Rican Day, and is regarded as one of the most critiqued episodes from the entire Jerry Seinfeld series. The episode follows the protagonists as they leave a Mets game, only to get stuck in traffic caused by the Puerto Rican Parade that was being celebrated in New York.
The episode does not treat the festivities as the butt of the joke. Rather, they treat it as something causing inconvenience to the main characters, which is automatically seen in a negative light. Many criticized this aspect of the episode, specifically how they were only showing the festival as a problem to others rather than a celebration of a culture.
The biggest issue that audiences had with the episode was what happened in the end. Near the conclusion of the story, Kramer accidentally sets a Puerto Rican flag on fire. When he continuously steps on it to put out the fire, a crowd of Puerto Ricans find him and chase him away, thinking him to be engaging in a hate crime.
NBC Regretted Airing the Seinfeld Episode
It is safe to say that the entire episode left a foul taste in the mouths of their viewers. Before the episode even aired, audiences were not happy, and the brunt of the criticism was being given out to NBC, the studio behind the show. From receiving angry letters to fending off angry protesters, it is safe to say that the studio got the message.
Their first plan of action was to put out an apology for the episode, even though writers Steve Koren and David Mandel did not agree with the backlash. Additionally, NBC removed the episode from the TV packages of Seinfeld, trying to undo the damage they did.
Despite this, The Puerto Rico Day is one of the most watched episodes from the series, along with The Soup Nazi and The Chinese Restaurant.
