‘Late Night’ Host Seth Meyers Specifies His ‘Jew-ish’ Credentials
by Shiryn Ghermezian
Late night talk show host Seth Meyers explained to his studio audience on Wednesday that although he is not actually a Jew, he is frequently mistaken for one, and that his in-laws consider him to be “Jewish enough.”
The revaluations about his Jewishness (or lack thereof) were prompted by a gift Montreal Expos yarmulka he received from sports writer Jonah Keri, who was a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers on Wednesday.
The former Saturday Night Live cast member, who said his paternal grandfather was Jewish, is married to a Jew, Alexia Ashe. Meyers said when he first met his in-laws, “they thought I was Jewish as well and they were very excited about that. So when I had to tell them that I wasn’t Jewish they were very disappointed.”
“Over the course of five years I won them over… And I realized that they just came to the conclusion that I was Jewish enough,” Meyers joked. “And I realize [Judaism is] the only religion where that sort of happens and it makes sense that it’s the only religion that ends with ‘ish’… I feel like now when her friends ask my mother-in-law, ‘Is Seth Jewish?’ she’s like, ‘He’s Jew-ish.'”
Meyers and Ashe were married in a Jewish ceremony in the summer of 2013 that included a chuppah and yarmulka clad guests, he said. Meyers said he “loves the idea of being Jewish” and added, “I’m proudly Jew-ish.”
Confusion over his religion sometimes leads to some awkward interactions, he admitted.
“It’s weird because when Jewish people think I’m Jewish, they’re very excited about it and I don’t wanna say ‘Oh no, I’m not Jewish’ because then you sound like somebody trying to get into a 1950’s country club. Its just not an attractive thing to say,” he jokingly said.
“A lot of people, not everybody, thinks I’m Jewish, but every single Jewish person thinks that I’m Jewish. And they come to that conclusion because of my face, and my name and everything about me. You can’t blame them for that.”