Adam Sandler Confesses He’s Suffering Through Suits While Promoting “Jay Kelly”

12 November 2025

Adam Sandler. Credit : Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock; Marilla Sicilia/Archivio Marilla Sicilia/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty

When Adam Sandler recently sat down with interviewers alongside co-star Laura Dern to talk about their new film Jay Kelly, he didn’t open the conversation by diving into character or plot. Instead he launched into a candid rant about something far more mundane yet surprisingly revealing: his current wardrobe. “It’s been horrendous,” he said of wearing suits during the press tour. “I don’t like the feeling. I think I only have three different suits, and one of them I don’t like,” he added with his characteristic mix of gloom and humour. “I can’t stand the pants, I can’t stand the jackets, the stupid shirts. Hate them all.”

This is a revelation in more ways than one. Sandler, long known for his casual on-screen persona and even more relaxed red-carpet style think hoodies, baggy shorts and even sneakers has found himself navigating formalwear territory thanks to the high-profile nature of “Jay Kelly,” a film in which he plays Ron, the devoted manager to a suave actor named Jay Kelly, portrayed by George Clooney. Clooney himself admitted that he’d been nudging Sandler to dress up more for events and that the suit phase was part of refining his image for this project. Sandler, however, made it clear he’d rather be anywhere else.

For fans and observers, it offers a quirky yet telling glimpse behind the curtain of public persona. It’s no secret that many actors tolerate fashion and red-carpet conventions in exchange for the platform to promote big projects and prolong careers. What makes this moment striking is the frankness Sandler’s unfiltered dislike of suits is itself a small rebellion against the polished veneer of Hollywood glam. He’s essentially reminding us that beneath the image there’s a guy who’d rather be in his comedic zone than covered in formal fabric.

The timing of the confession is also noteworthy. “Jay Kelly” enters select theatres on November 14, with a streaming release scheduled for December 5 on Netflix. The production is being billed as one of Sandler’s more serious efforts Clooney, speaking earlier in press interviews, described the film as a beautifully heartfelt piece and insisted cast and crew treat Sandler with respect as the “really beautiful, wonderful actor” he is, rather than the comedy staple his career had become. Hence the wardrobe shift: formalwear for a film that demands a more elevated tone.

Yet the wardrobe discomfort serves as a metaphor. Sandler’s career has been built around relatability, irreverence and a kind of every-man charm. When you see jokes about him hating suits you realize that the garb of “celebrity seriousness” is still uncomfortable for a performer whose roots lie in sitcom-style humour and oddball antics. And that may suggest something deeper about how actors negotiate identity. When the project demands a new image, the wardrobe becomes the first battleground.

Even the mechanics of the press tour underscore this. Sandler admitted he only has three suits for the cycle and isn’t even fond of one. At a red-carpet event in London’s Ham Yard Hotel during the BFI Festival, he showed up in a suit fitting the formality of the moment but his comments suggest the attire was purely performative. In other words, the clothes are part of the job, but they’re not part of him. The contrast is stark given how deeply his comedy persona has informed his public image for years.

Despite the discomfort, Sandler handles it with his characteristic self-deprecating humour. He acknowledged that someone complimented him on his new look and he replied “No … Thank you.” It is a small moment of defiance even as he performs the show-business duties expected of him. For an actor rising in prestige and taking on weightier material, the suit moments become part of the narrative that he is stepping into something new while resisting parts of the process.

The press tour and upcoming release of “Jay Kelly” will of course dominate the conversation in coming weeks: its themes celebrity, legacy, friendship, ambition combined with Sandler’s own career evolution make it a project worthy of attention. But for now the wardrobe gripe is what sticks. It offers fans a chance to see Sandler in the not-so-polished moments, still him but stepping into a different kind of world. The fact that he’s wearing the suit even while voicing his dislike turns it into a bit of performance itself a star in costume while publicly protesting it.

In many ways this speaks to a larger tension in Hollywood between image and authenticity. Sandler’s disdain for suits might be trivial in isolation, but it resonates because it stands for something bigger: the challenge of staying true to one’s self in a world that often demands conformity. He may look sharp, but he’s letting us know he’d rather not.

And so as “Jay Kelly” opens and Sandler completes his promotional cycle, the suits will snap, the lights will flash, and the photo-ops will roll. But behind the cufflinks and the tailored jackets there remains the comedian who just wants to wear what he wants. The suits might win the day but his voice, ironically louder in its discomfort, reminds us why he’s the unconventional star he is.