--- title: Kesha Overcame Jerry Seinfeld Hug Denial Thanks to Bob Dylan description: The "Praying" singer put that viral moment when Seinfeld denied her a hug behind her after Bob Dylan gave her a healing hug. canonical: https://time.com/4849438/kesha-seinfeld-hug-bob-dylan/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-07-07T17:53:17.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:45:12.502Z og:title: Kesha Overcame Jerry Seinfeld Hug Denial Thanks to Bob Dylan og:description: After Seinfeld denied Kesha a hug, she found solace in the healing arms of Dylan og:url: https://time.com/4849438/kesha-seinfeld-hug-bob-dylan/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Kesha Overcame Jerry Seinfeld Hug Denial Thanks to Bob Dylan twitter:description: After Seinfeld denied Kesha a hug, she found solace in the healing arms of Dylan twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # How Kesha Recovered from Her Jerry Seinfeld Hug Denial Trauma Thanks to Bob Dylan > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME The Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition The Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors. The Brief brings TIME's perspective to the day's most important stories, helping readers understand not just what is happening, but why it matters. It combines original reporting and analysis with the best of TIME, spanning politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=f3ca8196-318c-408f-9683-05392330e261&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Daily | TIME, August 2026 | | Subscribers | 540,000 | TIME, August 2026 | | Open rate | 45.6% | TIME, August 2026 | | Click rate | 3.3% | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Richard Hall, Editor | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership The informed consumer. A scaled audience of readers who turn to TIME to stay informed and make sense of the world, with meaningful reach across education and research, nonprofits and civic life, media and communications, government and public institutions, and business and professional services. ### TIME The Brief: key statements * The Brief is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * The Brief is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=f3ca8196-318c-408f-9683-05392330e261&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/subscribe?i=f3ca8196-318c-408f-9683-05392330e261&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is TIME's daily news newsletter? The Brief is TIME's daily newsletter, edited by Richard Hall. It curates the day's top headlines with TIME's reporting and analysis across politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It reaches 540,000 subscribers with a 45.6% open rate as of August 2026. It is free to join at time.com/newsletters. #### How do I sign up for The Brief? The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically.  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Jul 7, 2017 5:53 PM UTC  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Jul 7, 2017 5:53 PM UTC It was one of those awkward [red carpet moments](http://ew.com/news/2017/06/06/jerry-seinfeld-kesha-hug/): singer Kesha went in for a hug with Jerry Seinfeld, and he firmly rebuffed her. The footage of the encounter at the David Lynch Foundation’s National Night of Laughter and Song in early June quickly went viral. But luckily, Kesha — who just released a [brand-new song “Praying”](http://time.com/4847114/kesha-praying-comeback/) and announced an upcoming album — is bouncing back from the trauma of being let down by the comedian, all thanks to the healing powers of one Bob Dylan. “Hugging is magical, hugging is beautiful, it’s this beautiful exchange of wonderful soul energy,” she said during an interview on Sirius XM radio of her affinity for the act. She went on to describe how she got over the snafu: “My idol in life, [Bob Dylan](http://time.com/4806017/bob-dylan-nobel-prize-literature-lecture/), agreed to meet up with me because we were playing the same festival. And I was like so scared, because I had just got hug denied. So I was a little hug traumatized… And he just opened his beautiful arms and gave me the most wonderful, healing Bob Dylan hug that I had ever dreamt of, and I just could care less about anything else.” She added that he even gave her a hug after their conversation, too, making her twice-blessed by the folk legend. As for that _Seinfeld_\-esque moment?” “I should’ve known better,” she admitted. “I’ve seen the hugging episode. That was my fault.” She noted that she’s a huge fan of the show, even carrying out DVDs with her when she traveled in the past. Looks like she’s well on her way to recovery, though. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4849438/kesha-seinfeld-hug-bob-dylan/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4849438/kesha-seinfeld-hug-bob-dylan/"},"headline":"How Kesha Recovered from Her Jerry Seinfeld Hug Denial Trauma Thanks to Bob Dylan","datePublished":"2017-07-07T17:53:17.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:45:12.502Z","description":"The \"Praying\" singer put that viral moment when Seinfeld denied her a hug behind her after Bob Dylan gave her a healing hug.","url":"https://time.com/4849438/kesha-seinfeld-hug-bob-dylan/","keywords":["Newsfeed","celebrities","Music","Jerry Seinfeld","Kesha","Bob Dylan"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4849438/kesha-seinfeld-hug-bob-dylan/","name":"How Kesha Recovered from Her Jerry Seinfeld Hug Denial Trauma Thanks to Bob Dylan"}}]}] ```