Chris Pratt recalls opposing ‘mean’ jokes in ‘Parks and Recreation’ for Jim O’Heir

Chris Pratt is “not a huge fan of mean-spirited humour.”

Jim O’Heir’s new book, Welcome to Pawnee: Stories of Friendship, Waffles, and Parks and Recreation, features a candid discussion with his Parks and Recreation co-star Chris Pratt.

In the book, Pratt recalls moments when he felt the jokes directed at O’Heir’s character, Jerry Gergich, crossed a line from funny to mean-spirited.

“I remember you, particularly more than some others, being worried about some of the Jerry bits being…mean,” O’Heir told Pratt in their conversation.

“I remember you saying, ‘Jimmy, you okay with these?’… Do you remember that feeling at all?”

“I do, I do,” Pratt responded.

“I was concerned in some of those moments because I care about you and I love you, and I knew that there were some jokes that were, like, mean. But meaner than they were funny. If it’s a joke, it’s funny. But if it’s mean for the sake of being mean, well, I’m not a huge fan of mean-spirited humor, and I just wanted to check in on you.”

Throughout the seven seasons of the hit NBC sitcom, O’Heir’s character was often the centre of jokes, with colleagues humorously misnaming him as Gary, Larry, Lenny, or Terry. In one instance, Pratt recalls pushing back on a particular scene.

“There was that time you use the printer, and it says something like, ‘Jerry sucks’ on a piece of paper,” Pratt shared.

“I just said, ‘I don’t think that’s funny. I don’t know about it.’ For the most part, I rolled with it, but there were a couple of times where I think it went too far, and I was concerned for you.”

O’Heir assured Pratt that he didn’t take the jokes personally but expressed gratitude for Pratt’s thoughtfulness.

“Just so you know, that meant the world to me. You checked in on me, [Amy Poehler] checked in on me, and it’s not like I expected everyone to check in on me, but the fact that you did was so special,” O’Heir said.

“You have the biggest heart, and I don’t mean it from a medical perspective.”