Seinfeld attracts Thompson's wrath

Gonzo journalist Hunter S Thompson has unleashed a vicious war of words against normally inoffensive comedian Jerry Seinfeld.

The Fear and Loathing writer became enraged when he discovered he'd been stitched up by spoof letter-writer Ted L. Nancy, who many believe to be a Seinfeld incarnation.

A TV show based on Nancy's correspondence is in development, and Thompson fears his faxed replies could be used.

In a letter to his agent, reported in today's New York Post, Thompson says: "This whole whore-faced p***ing contest I've been roped into revolved around some addled-brained TV scheme [Seinfeld's] pitched to ABC.

"This is certainly a poisonous bucket of rocks we've got on our hands, bucko, because those letters are full of pure foul-hearted rage. We'll have to be on constant Code Red to prevent that Poconos chuckle-boy exploiting them in one of his slap-happy sitcoms."

Thompson threatens Seinfeld with "buckshot castration" and says he wants nothing to do with him "or any other hackneyed comedic lint-head he's in bed with".

Seinfeld wrote the foreword to the best-selling books based on Nancy's letters and attending meetings where the show was pitched to networks.

But his people deny the comic wrote any of the letters.

Published: 24 Jun 2002