Comedian Jerry Seinfeld says in court papers filed in New York that he was just trying to be funny when he called a woman who is suing his wife a "wacko" on TV.

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Missy Chase Lapine has taken Seinfeld's spouse, Jessica, to court, claiming she stole ideas from Lapine's cookbook "Sneaky Chef" and passed them off as her own in "Deceptively Delicious."

Lapine then sued Jerry Seinfeld for slander after the comedian joked about the litigation on "Late Night with David Letterman," calling Lapine a "wacko" and a "mentally unhinged celebrity stalker."

The New York Post said Seinfeld and his lawyers filed legal papers in Manhattan federal court this week in an effort to get the defamation claim dismissed by arguing he was just trying to find the comedy in the situation and insisting the First Amendment protects comedy.

Seinfeld and his attorneys also cited several instances in which he poked fun of frivolous lawsuits on his former TV show "Seinfeld," as well as his animated feature "Bee Movie," The Post said.