Jamie Lee Curtis Clarifies Controversial Comments About Filming ‘New Girl’
Jamie Lee Curtis has clarified her remarks regarding her guest role on the Fox sitcom New Girl.
“As if we don’t have more significant issues confronting Americans and the world—like natural disasters and the unsettling actions of despots—than to concern ourselves with a casual remark made during a promotional press moment for Newlyweds [on] NBC,” Curtis, 67, stated via Instagram on Tuesday, August 11, sharing a photo of herself on the set of New Girl alongside its star Zooey Deschanel and recurring star, the late Rob Reiner.
Curtis, who portrayed Jess Day’s mother, Joan Day, in various guest appearances on New Girl, further explained, “I was expressing my enthusiasm about a multi-camera sitcom that I co-created with Gail Lerner, which revolves around late-in-life love and spontaneous marriages. It features Tea Leoni and Tim Daly as the couple, and we are having such a blast. The audience loves it, and I was comparing the joy of performing live in front of a studio audience—where you receive immediate feedback—to the experience of working on a single-camera comedy like New Girl, where there is no feedback at all.”
The star of The Bear had discussed her experience on New Girl during an NBC backlot event in Los Angeles on Monday, August 10, stating that her time on the show felt like “doing a movie” where there’s no audience reaction. “It’s silent, and it’s awful, for me, just awful,” she shared with fans at the gathering.
In her Instagram post, Curtis remarked, “I mentioned it wasn’t my favorite experience, although the show itself is incredible and the team behind it is talented. Zooey Deschanel is simply a gem, and I enjoyed my time with my friend, Rob Reiner, as our characters’ past lovers—that was sweet and lovely.”
She wrapped up her post with, “Let’s not squander clicks and comments on this and shift our focus to much more significant issues. That’s all.”
Fans quickly rallied behind Curtis’ post, flooding the comments section with clapping and heart emojis, as well as supportive messages. “I saw that and completely understood your point. Multi-camera with an audience is an entirely different experience compared to single-camera comedies. I get that you prefer the instant feedback from a live audience!” one fan commented.
Another fan added, “It’s very clear to anyone who takes the time to watch the whole clip.”
New Girl, a show featuring a quirky teacher who moves into a loft with three single men following a breakup, aired on ABC from September 2011 to May 2018, starring Deschanel, 46, alongside Jake Johnson, Max Greenfield, Lamorne Morris, and Hannah Simone. The series garnered a new audience after being made available for streaming on Netflix.
