Jerry Seinfeld Apologises For ‘Uncomfortable Subtle Sexual Aspect’ Of Bee Movie

Jerry Seinfeld has apologised for the 'uncomfortable subtle sexual aspect' of Bee Movie.

The animated film was released back in 2007, and in it, bee Barry B. Benson (voiced by Seinfeld) seems to develop romantic feelings towards human florist Vanessa Bloome (Renée Zellweger).

It's a strange plotline, that's for sure. You could even say it's verging on beestiality.

Now, Seinfeld - who co-wrote the movie - has apologised for the unintentional vibe.

Paramount Pictures

Appearing on The Tonight Show on Friday (1 October), the comedian said: "I apologise for what seems to be a certain uncomfortable subtle sexual aspect of the Bee Movie.

"It really was not intentional, but after it came out, I realised this is really not appropriate for children.

"Because the bee seemed to have a thing for the girl, and we don't really want to pursue that as an idea in children's entertainment."

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In 2017, reflecting on Bee Movie a decade after its release, director Steve Hickner said there was never any intention to make the film remotely sexual.

Speaking to The New Statesman, he said: "It was never going to be sexual or anything like that.

"It was purely this friendship... maybe in Barry's mind he thought... but it was never going to be that."

Writer Spike Feresten added that people are generally either 'entertained or repulsed' by the 'interspecies love affair', but either way, this was never the story they set out to tell.

In hindsight, he said they may have been guilty at times of forgetting that Barry was a bee.

He recalled: "Often we would lose sight of those characters in the room.

"They would just be Barry and Vanessa, and we would write this dialogue for Barry and Vanessa, and read it over and have to remind ourselves, well, this is a tiny bee saying this, and the tiny bee is fighting with her boyfriend, so let's dial it back to friend, and make it less romantic, because it's getting weird."

Moreover, he reckons the film's slightly unhinged feel - which has become the subject of many memes over the years - may be owed to the creative freedom they were afforded.

He explained: "There's some weird stuff in there that you probably wouldn't see in Toys or Coco or stuff like that, although fine movies.

"This one was put together by artists and not some corporate paint by numbers.

"We weren't focused on writing a movie for children. We were focused on writing a comedy, and seeing where that premise went."

Topics: TV and Film, Celebrity, US Entertainment

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey