Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 2:51 pm Post subject: Seinfeld actor fires off racist abuse
Dan Glaister in Los Angeles
Wednesday November 22, 2006
The Guardian
The comic actor Michael Richards, better known as Cosmo Kramer in the long-running TV show Seinfeld, has apologised for a racist outburst that was captured on film and broadcast across the US. Richards, 57, took exception when some black audience members talked during his act at a Los Angeles comedy club on Friday. In the recording, Richards says from the stage: "Fifty years ago we'd have you upside down with a fucking fork up your ass."
Article continues
He then proceeds to insult one man with a succession of racial epithets. "Throw his ass out. He's a nigger! He's a nigger! He's a nigger! A nigger, look, there's a nigger!" Richards says.
In a television appearance on Monday night, after news of the tirade broke, Richards apologised, telling host David Letterman - who was interviewing Seinfeld star Jerry Seinfeld - that he was not a racist but had lost his temper.
"I was at a comedy club trying to do my act, and I got heckled and I took it badly and went into a rage," Richards said. "For me to be in a comedy club and flip out and say this crap, I'm deeply, deeply sorry. I'm not a racist. That's what's so insane about this."
Richards went on to say that his performance technique may be responsible for the comments.
"You know, I'm a performer," he said. "I push the envelope; I work in a very uncontrolled manner on stage. I do a lot of free association, it's spontaneous, I go into character."
Throughout the tirade, which lasted for two minutes, the audience became confused, uncertain whether the extreme language was part of Richards' act. Some laughed at the comments but as the attacks from the stage continued, there were gasps and some voices could be heard expressing disbelief.
The target of Richards' comments shouted back at Richards several times, telling him that the insults were uncalled for. "That's un-fucking called for," one man said. "It ain't necessary."
Another man said: "It's not funny. That's why you're a reject, never had no shows, never had no movies. Seinfeld, that's it."
The response seemed to drive Richards to further express his anger. Several members of the audience left their seats as Richards continued his rant before himself leaving the stage. The following night, he returned to the club to perform his act.
Following the publicity given to the incident, club owner Jamie Masada said that Richards would not perform again at the Hollywood club. "The Laugh Factory is a comedy club, not a forum for personal attacks," he said.
The recording first appeared on the celebrity gossip website TMZ.com, the site that broke the news of Mel Gibson's anti-Semitic tirade earlier in the summer.
Since appearing as the scene-stealing Kramer in Seinfeld, Richards' career has been dormant. A television spin-off, The Michael Richards Show, was dropped after a few episodes, and other than his one-man comedy act and a brief stint in a West End production of Arsenic and Old Lace, Richards career has consisted of giving interviews for Seinfeld DVD compilations.
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Pretty shocking really - after hearing about Mel Gibson's outburst a few months back it makes me wonder how many others are harbouring a deep-seated resentment too...
If he can't handle a heckle then he shouldn't be performing to a live audience in such a venue. A lot of comedians would disagree with that statement, but there are rarely complete arsehole hecklers at normal clubs and I'd say it's part of their job to deal with them, whether they like it or not. Putting a heckler down is an artform in itself.
I was completely shocked seeing that on CNN. He really lost the plot bigtime, and you're right. He shouldn't be doing standup if he can't take the heckling as it goes hand in hand I think.
I saw the clip at You Tube where he was on David Letterman. Jerry Seinfeld was a scheduled guest that night.
He seemed pretty broken up about what he'd done and I believe he really is sorry, but he needs to take a look within to find out why he's such an angry person.
It bothered me watching that clip becuase the people in the audience were laughing, and there's nothing funny about it. At one point Seinfeld said 'it's not funny' to them and Michael was gutted they were laughing as well and said maybe he shouldn't have appeared on the show because of it.
I don't think it will help smooth over what he's done.
So disgusting! If he can't handle the hecklers, then he shouldn't do the stand up. I think he's lost a lot of credibility with people and I don't think he'll ever really have another show business job again.
Two of the hecklers who prompted Michael Richards?s racist outburst have said they want a personal apology and a payout for the incident. Frank McBride and Kyle Doss were part of a group of about 20 people who had gone to West Hollywood's Laugh Factory to celebrate a birthday last Friday. Their attorney, Gloria Allred, said the duo were ordering drinks when Richards launched into a tirade, branding them ?niggers?.
Allred complained that although Richards has apologised on the David Letterman show and to civil rights leaders, he has not apologised to her clients ?directly, face to face, man to man?. She said Richards should meet McBride and Doss in front of a retired judge to apologise to them and allow the judge to decide on a cash monetary compensation. But he did not specify a figure. She said: ?Our clients were vulnerable. He singled them out and he taunted them, and he did it in a closed room where they were captive.?
Richards' publicist, who has previously said the comic hadn?t been able to locate the hecklers to apologise to them, said Richards wasn't considering any demand for payment. Comedians have been lining up to pass their comments on the row on American TV.
I was completely shocked seeing that on CNN. He really lost the plot bigtime, and you're right. He shouldn't be doing standup if he can't take the heckling as it goes hand in hand I think.
That's so very true. He's been a bit unstable for awhile. I remember seeing an interview with one of his kids and they said they loved him but he was quite a strange dad and was very strict and prone to outbursts. Which makes me think he shouldn't be in front of a live audience.
Two of the hecklers who prompted Michael Richards?s racist outburst have said they want a personal apology and a payout for the incident. Frank McBride and Kyle Doss were part of a group of about 20 people who had gone to West Hollywood's Laugh Factory to celebrate a birthday last Friday. Their attorney, Gloria Allred, said the duo were ordering drinks when Richards launched into a tirade, branding them ?niggers?.
Allred complained that although Richards has apologised on the David Letterman show and to civil rights leaders, he has not apologised to her clients ?directly, face to face, man to man?. She said Richards should meet McBride and Doss in front of a retired judge to apologise to them and allow the judge to decide on a cash monetary compensation. But he did not specify a figure. She said: ?Our clients were vulnerable. He singled them out and he taunted them, and he did it in a closed room where they were captive.?
Richards' publicist, who has previously said the comic hadn?t been able to locate the hecklers to apologise to them, said Richards wasn't considering any demand for payment. Comedians have been lining up to pass their comments on the row on American TV.
He should apologize to them yes, but a cash payout? That's a bit much. If I demanded one for each time I was screamed at and called names (especially in my line of work) I could retire.
Hell, I was called a racist by one of my parents because his daughter got in trouble with me for passing notes in class. I was called a load of names, talked down to, and he started telling other people I was a racist. He failed to even acknowledge the fact that the other girl who was passing notes (who was white) got in trouble also and received the same punishment.
Two of the hecklers who prompted Michael Richards?s racist outburst have said they want a personal apology and a payout for the incident. Frank McBride and Kyle Doss were part of a group of about 20 people who had gone to West Hollywood's Laugh Factory to celebrate a birthday last Friday. Their attorney, Gloria Allred, said the duo were ordering drinks when Richards launched into a tirade, branding them ?niggers?.
Allred complained that although Richards has apologised on the David Letterman show and to civil rights leaders, he has not apologised to her clients ?directly, face to face, man to man?. She said Richards should meet McBride and Doss in front of a retired judge to apologise to them and allow the judge to decide on a cash monetary compensation. But he did not specify a figure. She said: ?Our clients were vulnerable. He singled them out and he taunted them, and he did it in a closed room where they were captive.?
Richards' publicist, who has previously said the comic hadn?t been able to locate the hecklers to apologise to them, said Richards wasn't considering any demand for payment. Comedians have been lining up to pass their comments on the row on American TV.
He should apologize to them yes, but a cash payout? That's a bit much. If I demanded one for each time I was screamed at and called names (especially in my line of work) I could retire.
Hell, I was called a racist by one of my parents because his daughter got in trouble with me for passing notes in class. I was called a load of names, talked down to, and he started telling other people I was a racist. He failed to even acknowledge the fact that the other girl who was passing notes (who was white) got in trouble also and received the same punishment.
I couldn't agree with you more Skylace, and he was looking to apologise to them and went outside the club looking for them after it happened.
When I saw the pair on CNN with Gloria the arse Allred, I knew right away they were going to try and get money for it. Gloria is a good lawyer for human rights and all that, but she's also known to be a money digger for unworthy causes such as this.
You could tell right off what these guys were aiming at, and when asked if they felt they deserved a cash settlement they got all tongue tied and said erm erm yeah but couldn't give a good reason why....only that their nephew was devistated by the whole thing.
The nephew wasn't even there so why would he be devistated? Disgusted sure but not devistated and most certainly not worth having to pay out something.
Money won't take it away or make anyone feel better. The only thing that will is an honest apology and awareness of the problem of racism ......and that the 'N' word isn't funny no matter who uses it...and that includes EVERYONE!
Maybe a donation to a relevant charity would be the answer if there's going to be any money involved?
I don't really see that as necessary if I'm honest. I think what he is or plans on doing is the best deal, and that's finding out why he's so angry. He needs to get to the root of why this happened, and lets face it, no matter how much money he gave to any given charity, he'd not be forgiven by a lot of people. They'd say he was trying to buy himself a sorry.
He was on Jesse Jackson's radio show and said he was sorry to everyone and claims not to be a racist and I believe him. He just lost it that night and it could have been towards anyone. It doesn't make it any better or understandable, but everyone effs up in life, but when you're in the public eye and a celeb of sorts it makes it worse to a lot of people.
Anyone that does it in my eyes is a disgrace, but if they say sorry and actually mean it and are willing to get help to better themselves then I'm all for it, and forgiveness is a lot easier.
He's worked with a lot of comedians of colour and they've said he's always been totally fine and never would of thought he was racist. The one I was listening to believes he isn't and just snapped that night. I think he's spot on.
What I mean was that if there was any money given to them through the courts that it should go to a charity. Who knows what the courts will say - judging by previous cases I can't see any reason why they'd not grant it. But is making comments like he did not illegal in America? If so he should be charged and found guilty, he would here, and rightly so.
What I mean was that if there was any money given to them through the courts that it should go to a charity. Who knows what the courts will say - judging by previous cases I can't see any reason why they'd not grant it. But is making comments like he did not illegal in America? If so he should be charged and found guilty, he would here, and rightly so.
I don't think he could be legally charged with anything because of the freedom of speech act in America, but I could be wrong.
What I mean was that if there was any money given to them through the courts that it should go to a charity. Who knows what the courts will say - judging by previous cases I can't see any reason why they'd not grant it. But is making comments like he did not illegal in America? If so he should be charged and found guilty, he would here, and rightly so.
I don't think he could be legally charged with anything because of the freedom of speech act in America, but I could be wrong.
Slander is illegal. Calling someone a knob-head, bitch or whatever, isn't.
What I mean was that if there was any money given to them through the courts that it should go to a charity. Who knows what the courts will say - judging by previous cases I can't see any reason why they'd not grant it. But is making comments like he did not illegal in America? If so he should be charged and found guilty, he would here, and rightly so.
I don't think he could be legally charged with anything because of the freedom of speech act in America, but I could be wrong.
Slander is illegal. Calling someone a knob-head, bitch or whatever, isn't.
Yeah, but those kind of comments are purely personal and not down to their race, or other aspect beyond their control. I think he'd have been charged with "hate speech" if he'd done it here.
On a similar note, the details of Scotland's hate-crime statistics in relation to spoken religious hatred were released yesterday and there were about 500 people in the last year found guilty of it (vast majority against Catholics)
What I mean was that if there was any money given to them through the courts that it should go to a charity. Who knows what the courts will say - judging by previous cases I can't see any reason why they'd not grant it. But is making comments like he did not illegal in America? If so he should be charged and found guilty, he would here, and rightly so.
I don't think he could be legally charged with anything because of the freedom of speech act in America, but I could be wrong.
Slander is illegal. Calling someone a knob-head, bitch or whatever, isn't.
Yeah, but those kind of comments are purely personal and not down to their race, or other aspect beyond their control. I think he'd have been charged with "hate speech" if he'd done it here.
On a similar note, the details of Scotland's hate-crime statistics in relation to spoken religious hatred were released yesterday and there were about 500 people in the last year found guilty of it (vast majority against Catholics)
What I mean was that if there was any money given to them through the courts that it should go to a charity. Who knows what the courts will say - judging by previous cases I can't see any reason why they'd not grant it. But is making comments like he did not illegal in America? If so he should be charged and found guilty, he would here, and rightly so.
I don't think he could be legally charged with anything because of the freedom of speech act in America, but I could be wrong.
Slander is illegal. Calling someone a knob-head, bitch or whatever, isn't.
Yeah, but those kind of comments are purely personal and not down to their race, or other aspect beyond their control. I think he'd have been charged with "hate speech" if he'd done it here.
On a similar note, the details of Scotland's hate-crime statistics in relation to spoken religious hatred were released yesterday and there were about 500 people in the last year found guilty of it (vast majority against Catholics)
There has to be a incitement to riot behind it for it to be "hate speech" and for him to get in trouble. They could bring him to court on that, but not for just using the word. Seeing as how the term "nigger" is shouted out between blacks in open public, it would be hard for them to press that. I could call someone a "dirty kike" and wouldn't get them in trouble. However, if I was using it as an attempt to "incitement to riot" and they could prove that then I could be charged.
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