‘Seinfeld’ star says he was ‘original rawdogger’ after inspiring viral trend

“Seinfeld” star Patrick Warburton has declared himself the “original rawdogger” after taking responsibility for inspiring a viral TikTok travel trend.

Last month, the 60-year-old actor, who is touring the country after launching his stand-up career, shared a video in which he claimed one of his character David Puddy’s scenes from the iconic sitcom sparked the airplane trend known as “rawdogging.”

“Rawdogging” is a trend in which airplane passengers forgo all forms of entertainment or distraction throughout an entire flight. The popularity of the term led the American Dialect Society to name “rawdog” as the 2024 word of the year. 

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In an Instagram video shared on March 24, Warburton noted that rawdogging is “a thing” and he felt “a bit responsible.” The clip then cuts to a famous “Seinfeld” scene from the 1997 episode “The Butter Shave” in which Puddy and on-and-off girlfriend Elaine Benes (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) are taking a flight together. In the scene, Elaine is left in disbelief when Puddy tells her that he doesn’t plan to read or nap, instead choosing to spend the entire trip staring at the seat in front of him. 

During an interview with Fox News Digital, Warburton shared why he decided to take ownership of the “rawdogging” social media phenomenon.

“For the last year, I’ve just been sort of hearing about this and having people approach me and go, ‘You know, you’re the original rawdogger from when Puddy and Elaine were on the plane,'” Warburton said.

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He continued, “And I go, ‘All right, yeah, I guess so. All right. We’ll do something fun with this.'”

Warburton told Fox News Digital that he was surprised by the massive reaction to his post, which went viral and made headlines. 

“I was rather shocked,” he said, noting that “all these articles were coming out.”

“It just ended up blowing up all over the place,” Warburton added. “It’s just one of those fun, curious things, and the timing on it, I guess, was just perfect.”

Warburton also stands by his assertion that the “rawdogging” trend can be traced back to his episode of “Seinfeld.”

“We were the originator,” he told Fox News Digital. “It’s pretty easy to decipher that in the timeline.”

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In his viral video, Warburton also shared a warning for those attempting to “rawdog” a flight.

“My concern is that somebody’s going to get hurt, and if you go into this thing blindly … you know what I’m saying?” Warburton cautioned.

“Just not reading, watching something, you better be OK with what’s going on up here inside your ole noggin,” he continued, pointing at his head. “I’m not,” he joked. “But it’s weird and entertaining at times.”

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“Just be careful. That’s all I’m saying. It’s not for novices.”

“The ultimate Puddy stare | Try this trend at your own risk!” Warburton wrote in the caption.

Warburton starred as David Puddy, the on-and-off boyfriend of Elaine Benes (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) in the hit sitcom. (Joey Delvalle/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images)

However, Warburton revealed that he had never tried the trend out himself.

“I’m ADHD, I can’t,” he said. “Matter of fact, sometimes, yeah, I’ll get a little panicky. I’ll be like, ‘Oh my God, I have nothing to read. I didn’t bring a book. I forgot my headphones. Well, I guess I’ll watch whatever I can in the back of the seat in front of me.'”

“The Family Guy” star told Fox News Digital that the experience of going viral was enjoyable since he had never really engaged with social media before he decided to embark on a stand-up comedy career at the age of 60.

“Since I started doing stand-up, I’ve been told that I have to do social media, so I’m having fun with it,” he said. “This is the first time I’ve really gotten involved where I’ve diligently started to put things out on social media because I never really did that in the past.”

“But it’s important as you’re touring, and you’re going out, and you’ve got dates, you have to make sure that everybody knows when you’re going out, where you’re going out and then keep them interested,” Warburton added.

The actor admitted that he has never tried to “rawdog” a flight. (Joey Delvalle/NBCU Photo Bank)

Last year, Warburton ventured into the world of stand-up comedy for the first time in decades. 

“I always loved stand-up,” he said. “I did it for a minute when I was 21, literally, for like a month or two. I was actually having a really good time.”

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Warburton explained that he then traveled to Africa to film “some horrible movies that I hope nobody ever sees” and never returned to the comedy stage after his return.

“I’ve sort of regretted it my whole life,” he admitted. “But I was just focusing on acting and voice-over work and whatnot.”

“I have a rather large family to support,” the father of four continued. “I never went back to it. I’m a bit of a stand-up snob. I believe that in order to be a great stand-up, you have to eat, drink and breathe it. And I never wanted to be a mediocre stand-up. I feel like you have to devote so much of your time to it.”

Warburton recently launched his stand-up career at the age of 60. (Mike Pont/WireImage)

However, Warburton decided to try his hand at stand-up once again 10 months ago. 

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“I decided I needed to do something sort of harrowing and challenging,” he explained. “And I started getting out there and within three months I was headlining.”

Since then, Warburton has performed at shows in Florida, Utah, Montana, Arizona and Rhode Island. The actor-turned-comedian will next launch a Northeast tour that will include stops in New York, New Jersey, Buffalo, Boston and Chicago.

The actor will be filming his first comedy special in two months. (Mike Pont/WireImage)

Warburton told Fox News Digital that he will also be filming his first comedy special in two months.

“Which is kind of an interesting story, I guess, in itself, and why they want to do it, because it’s sort of an interesting path that I’ve taken, going to stand-up at 60 and then within a year shooting a special, so we’ll see how that goes.”

After embarking on his stand-up career later in life, Warburton told Fox News Digital that he is enjoying every minute of it.

“There are folks who are like, ‘Why now?’” he said. “I’m actually having the best time professionally that I can remember ever having.”

“I’ve never had this kind of autonomy. I’ve always been told what to do, what to say, when to say it, where to say it,” he continued. “I write all my own material, so I get on stage when I want, where I want, and I do it how I want.”

“It’s great to have that creative control.”

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