Jerry Seinfeld is ready to apologize for the undercurrent of sexual tension that buzzed through Bee Movie nearly 15 years ago.
During a recent appearance on The Tonight Show to hype up Seinfeld finally coming to Netflix, Seinfeld reflected on the winding path his career has taken. “It always takes longer than people think, you know, to be a comedian,” Seinfeld explained. “I had to go on the Tonight Show and Letterman like 80 times and then roast my nuts doing a TV series for nine years. Then I had to get married — I got married a 45. That takes a long time to find a great person. I had three kids. I had to straighten their insane asses out, and then I had to make a movie with a bee,” much to the delight of the audience.
At this point, Seinfeld apologized “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 realized this is really not appropriate for children. Because the bee seems to have a thing for the girl, and we don’t really want to pursue that as an idea in children’s entertainment.”
In the 2007 animated film, Seinfeld’s character, Barry B. Benson, strikes up an unlikely friendship with a woman named Vanessa (voiced by Renée Zellwegger). However, their interspecies relationship gets to a point that Vanessa’s boyfriend — a human man — gets jealous of Barry — again, a bee.
Watch Seinfeld’s interview on Fallon below.
All nine seasons Seinfeld are now streaming on Netflix Next in his partnership with the streamer, the comic legend is set to both direct and star in Unfrosted, the upcoming movie about the history of Pop-Tarts.