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For years, Seinfeld fans have reveled in the notion that the series was a “show about nothing.” That’s not what it really was about, though. Jerry Seinfeld once revealed that the pitch for the show focused on how comedians get their material. While it’s not true for most comedians, Seinfeld’s in-show character, Jerry, apparently got his material by being a despicable person. Throughout nine seasons, Jerry and his pals did awful things to each other and other people. Do you remember the three worst things Jerry ever did? 

Jerry got a college friend fired twice

Jerry might have been financially responsible. He might have been a comedic success and had a seemingly nice life, but Jerry was not a good friend. He wasn’t great to his close friends, but he was even worse to his acquaintances. When Jerry ran into his friend, Seth, on the street, he completely upended Seth’s life. While he felt bad for him initially, his selfish side took over, causing more heartache for Seth. 

Jason Alexander (George), Jerry Seinfeld (Jerry), Michael Richards (Kramer), and Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Elaine) stand behind bars in a scene during the last days of filming the final episode of 'Seinfeld'
The cast of ‘Seinfeld’ | David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images

In the season 8 episode, “The Chicken Roaster,” Jerry ran into a college pal and convinced him to blow off a business meeting to get lunch. The missed meeting resulted in his termination. Jerry initially felt bad and even switched apartments with Kramer to help Seth keep his new job as a fast-food manager. His kindness and concern only lasted so long, though. When he couldn’t take the glowing neon of the Kenny Roger’s Roasters sign any longer, Jerry brutally got the restaurant shut down, and Seth fired again. No one heard from Seth ever again. 

Jerry dumped a woman for maybe having breast implants 

Jerry was largely unlucky in love. Unlike George Costanza, who seemed interested in finding someone, Jerry was quietly bitter about the dating scene. He once proclaimed that anywhere between 90 to 95 percent of people were “undateable.” Some of the reason those people were undateable was because of Jerry’s hangups and bias, though.  

In the season 4 episode, “The Implant,” Jerry dumped his girlfriend, Sidra, because Elaine Benes suggested that she had breast implants. Later, Elaine ran into Sidra at a sauna and changed her stance on the breast implant issue. Jerry started seeing Sidra again after Elaine changed her mind. Jerry’s decision to break up with someone over something that is a personal choice was morally problematic. Reconnecting with Sidra when Elaine changed her opinion was despicable. 

In one ‘Seinfeld’ storyline, Jerry drugged a woman he was dating to play with her toys 

Jerry’s behavior wasn’t great in the early seasons of Seinfeld, but he got worse over time. A season 9 storyline is among the most controversial storylines of the entire series. It proves that Jerry was pretty much irredeemable. 

Jerry Seinfeld talks to Kramer on a fake set during an episode of 'Seinfeld'
Michael Richards as Cosmo Kramer, Jerry Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld | Joseph Delvalle/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images

In the season 9 episode, “The Merv Griffin Show,” Jerry started dating a woman who collected retro toys. Desperate to play with the toys, he concocted plans to incapacitate his date so he could play with her collection. At one point, he even slipped her sleeping pills and brought his friends over to play with the toy collection. George and Elaine happily joined in. At least Cosmo Kramer found the behavior problematic. 

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