Michael Richards' A.K.A. Kramer's Tirade

[ryanpgm]

Did everyone see Kramer flip out not long ago on an audience during his standup act? The link is below to the video from youtube.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjE0E5lgm9Q

 

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[Gxgolfer]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061120/ap_en_...ichael_richards

 

LOS ANGELES -

Michael Richards said Monday he spewed racial epithets during a stand-up comedy routine because he lost his cool while being heckled and not because he's a bigot. "For me to be at a comedy club and flip out and say this crap, I'm deeply, deeply sorry," the former "Seinfeld" co-star said during a satellite appearance for David Letterman's "Late Show."

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"I'm not a racist. That's what's so insane about this," Richards said, his tone becoming angry and frustrated as he defended himself. A clip from the show played on CBS before "Late Show" aired Monday night.

 

Richards described himself as going into "a rage" over the two audience members who interrupted his act Friday at the Laugh Factory in West Hollywood. Richards responded to the black hecklers with repeated use of the "n word" and profanities.

 

Jerry Seinfeld, who had issued a statement saying he was "sick over this horrible, horrible mistake" and calling it offensive, was scheduled as a Letterman guest Monday. He encouraged Richards to make a satellite appearance to talk about the incident, a CBS publicist said.

 

Richards, 57, who played Seinfeld's eccentric neighbor Kramer on the hit 1989-98 sitcom and whose major credit since was a failed 2000 comedy, hadn't spoken publicly about his remarks before "Late Show." Calls to his representatives were not returned Monday.

 

His on-stage remarks were condemned by industry colleagues.

 

Comedian

Paul Rodriguez, who was at the Laugh Factory during Richards' performance, said he was shocked.

 

"Once the word comes out of your mouth and you don't happen to be African-American, then you have a whole lot of explaining," Rodriguez told CNN. "Freedom of speech has its limitations and I think Michael Richards found those limitations."

[ryanpgm]

BTW if you are racially sensitive or cetain words offend you, you may want to think twice before watching this video. Seinfeld still rocks though!

[dpark]

Looks like Mel Gibson has some company in the proverbial frying pan...

[Teetogreen86]

I don't know what to think about this whole thing. I'm a huge Michael Richards fan but I will admit I have lost some respect for him. I'm not trying to make an excuse, but I think he might have been drunk or on drugs or something because I don't think he'd do that sober. He just never seemed that way. It'll be interesting to see how it all plays out.

[samm980]

While he should not have said it maybe those guys should not have heckled him, heck remember how Toby was with Kramer and heckled Jerry. Jerry went down to Pendent and Toby got her little toe chopped off by a bus.

[Diesel]

from what i understand the two "gentlemen" innvolved in the dispute, were heckling him from the beginning making reverse racial comments his whole set...

 

that certainly doesn't make it "ok" for Richards to lash out as he did, but we're only human, and can only be pushed to a certain point, i guess...

[Teetogreen86]

While he should not have said it maybe those guys should not have heckled him, heck remember how Toby was with Kramer and heckled Jerry. Jerry went down to Pendent and Toby got her little toe chopped off by a bus.

 

Street sweeper. ;)

[samm980]

While he should not have said it maybe those guys should not have heckled him, heck remember how Toby was with Kramer and heckled Jerry. Jerry went down to Pendent and Toby got her little toe chopped off by a bus.

 

Street sweeper. ;)

 

 

Sorry, Kramer took control of a bus.

[Teetogreen86]

While he should not have said it maybe those guys should not have heckled him, heck remember how Toby was with Kramer and heckled Jerry. Jerry went down to Pendent and Toby got her little toe chopped off by a bus.

 

Street sweeper. ;)

 

 

Sorry, Kramer took control of a bus.

 

Because it was OUTTA control...

[samm980]

While he should not have said it maybe those guys should not have heckled him, heck remember how Toby was with Kramer and heckled Jerry. Jerry went down to Pendent and Toby got her little toe chopped off by a bus.

 

Street sweeper. ;)

 

 

Sorry, Kramer took control of a bus.

 

Because it was OUTTA control...

 

 

Bottom line, Toby had it coming.

[Geo]

While he should not have said it maybe those guys should not have heckled him, heck remember how Toby was with Kramer and heckled Jerry. Jerry went down to Pendent and Toby got her little toe chopped off by a bus.

 

Street sweeper. :stop:

 

 

Sorry, Kramer took control of a bus.

 

Because it was OUTTA control...

 

 

Bottom line, Toby had it coming.

 

No, I'll tell you what the bottom line is.

 

Bottom line, Michael Richards peaked as Stanley Spadowski. ;)

 

[smarshal75]

If you have ever been to a live comedy show you might not think this clip is all that unusual or over the top. I have been to a few at the Improv in Brea, CA. These shows get raw and if you mess with the comic you are wide open for anything. Comics thrive on shock value and Richards didn't fail to deliver. I don't think this is really as big a deal as people are making out to be. Hell, try to find a Kris Rock routine that doesn't include some racist humor whether it be black on black or whitey everyone is fair game.

[Golf_Beauty]

To add to Gxgolfer's post....

 

Comic Michael Richards apologized Monday for a Friday night tirade during his standup show at the Laugh Factory in Hollywood during which he used profanities and racial slurs, including the n-word.

 

The 57-year-old actor who gained fame as Kramer, the wacky neighbor on "Seinfeld," offered his apology during an appearance on CBS' "The Late Show With David Letterman." It was taped in the afternoon and wound up leading the "CBS Evening News" with Katie Couric.

"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," he 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' appearance on "Late Show" came during a segment with Jerry Seinfeld, who had previously been scheduled as a guest and, after Friday's outburst, invited his former co-star to join him via satellite. Seinfeld earlier had been quoted as saying Richards' remarks at the Laugh Factory sickened him, calling the episode a "horrible mistake."

 

In a blurry cell phone video of the Friday night performance, Richards shouts "Shut up!" at two hecklers and makes a racially offensive remark, sparking gasps from the audience, which triggers even more epithets from Richards. As one person shouts back at him, "That was uncalled for," Richards replies: "Well, you interrupted me, pal. That's what happens when you interrupt the white man." A video of the angry exchange can be seen at tmz.com and cnn.com.

 

The language Richards used was so extreme, some observers compared it to the anti-Semitic outburst by Mel Gibson after his arrest on drunk driving charges last July, with some predicting that it would mark the end of Richards' career.

 

You can read the rest here >> Kramer apology

 

If you have ever been to a live comedy show you might not think this clip is all that unusual or over the top. I have been to a few at the Improv in Brea, CA. These shows get raw and if you mess with the comic you are wide open for anything. Comics thrive on shock value and Richards didn't fail to deliver. I don't think this is really as big a deal as people are making out to be. Hell, try to find a Kris Rock routine that doesn't include some racist humor whether it be black on black or whitey everyone is fair game.

 

I've been to plenty of comedy shows, both in Oakland, CA and here in Seattle,WA and I've never seen or heard a white nor a black comedian call a black or white heckler a racially improper name. That was simply uncalled for.

[drpino]

If you have ever been to a live comedy show you might not think this clip is all that unusual or over the top. I have been to a few at the Improv in Brea, CA. These shows get raw and if you mess with the comic you are wide open for anything. Comics thrive on shock value and Richards didn't fail to deliver. I don't think this is really as big a deal as people are making out to be. Hell, try to find a Kris Rock routine that doesn't include some racist humor whether it be black on black or whitey everyone is fair game.

100% agree. completely blown out of proportion simply because it was caught on video and posted on the web. stand-up is as politically incorrect as it gets...chris rock, The Aristocrats, Ali G/Borat, etc. etc.

[Golf_Beauty]

A "routine" is simply that. A routine. They work on their craft and material...Chris Rock talks about other people calling each the c-word, whitey, and the n-word, he doesn't call them that himself.

 

Here's an example if a white person in the crowd were to heckle a comedian:

 

Comedian: "What's your name?"

 

Heckler: "Jerry."

 

Comedian: "What's your last name, Jerry?"

 

Heckler: "Saperstein."

 

Comedian: "Well, what would you know? We all know the Jews are the cause of all the problems in the world anyway."

 

The crowd would probably laugh because of the whole Mel Gibson thing and the frequent jokes about Jews controlling money.

 

However, it would be a totally different reaction from the crowd if he were to use the k-word instead. That's the difference between social satire and racial epithets. It's a thin line, but it's well-defined.

[mcbush25]

I am not going to say that it was right as no matter what happened I don't think I would have said the things that he did. Like it has been said though, we don't really know what was being said to him and maybe the other people were being just as vulgar with their comments.

 

Who knows what happened....He shouldn't have erupted like that, but there have been more offensive things happen in this world than this event.

 

C.J.

[samm980]

A "routine" is simply that. A routine. They work on their craft and material...Chris Rock talks about other people calling each the c-word, whitey, and the n-word, he doesn't call them that himself.

 

Here's an example if a white person in the crowd were to heckle a comedian:

 

Comedian: "What's your name?"

 

Heckler: "Jerry."

 

Comedian: "What's your last name, Jerry?"

 

Heckler: "Saperstein."

 

Comedian: "Well, what would you know? We all know the Jews are the cause of all the problems in the world anyway."

 

The crowd would probably laugh because of the whole Mel Gibson thing and the frequent jokes about Jews controlling money.

 

However, it would be a totally different reaction from the crowd if he were to use the k-word instead. That's the difference between social satire and racial epithets. It's a thin line, but it's well-defined.

 

 

You have to be kidding me, Chris Rock never does any racist material.

[raehtz10]

I agree with what I read in a story on this. He is an actor that was trying standup and was totally unprepared for the situation. It shook him, and he didn't know what to do, so he lost it like the primadonna that he is.

 

Kiss his pseudo-career goodbye. He is done. There are no comedians that I would consider "professional" that could or would defend something like that, black or white. How could someone possibly defend using the N word and dancing around with lynchings? I no longer have any respect for that has-been.

 

I agree with Golf Beauty. There are very finely defined lines of what racial 'jokes' are acceptable. Mostly, you can only make fun of a group if you are a member. I can't think of a situation where I would ever consider it okay for my white butt to call a black person the N word. Not joking, not in hate. It is offlimits. There are maybe a few racial slurs that can be used in a comedy setting, but using the grandfather of all slurs is not the way to go.

[seasuks]

Chris Rock gets a ton of laughs with "cracker assed cracker" and I laugh at it every single time...even though he's insulting me ;)

[Lionstar]

There are many ugly things we should take serious,,,and language is certainly a usual suspect in our world.There are also vulgar,racist,inflammatory words in rap or hip-hop[the latter a stupid term].If every black person who spewed a racial epithet while on stage were scrutinized and villified as Richards is now ,then many black comedians such as Richard Pryor[btw one of my favorites] and nearly all black rap "artists" would be considered "over the top". In the meantime we see men,women and children being tortured,raped ,mutilated,beheaded and other such "ugly" acts every day in our world.Lets get off the "word" game and pay more critical attention and hear more damnation about these more important headlines.As far as Richards goes,,,give him the same "tolerance" given to Richard Pryor and Al Sharpton or else check your own hypocracy.

[ryanpgm]

As with most things blown out of proportion in the media this will blow over in time. One of the best things about being a human is we tend to forget many things. I don't think in any way this will hurt Michael's career, or what you could call a career after Seinfeld. It's not like the guy is dead broke, my god they all made 1 mil a show the last season didn't they? He shouldn't have lost it like he did; however these kind of things happen when someone has been heckling you. Below is the link of his apology from letterman.

 

Kramer's Apology

[RagingAardvark]

 

No, I'll tell you what the bottom line is.

 

Bottom line, Michael Richards peaked as Stanley Spadowski. ;)

 

 

man, I'm glad I wasn't the only one thinking of that movie!!! :stop:

[asitlies]

He lost it like a 100 yard slice in the ocean. Don't know what he could have been thinking - the whole "fork in your"... What's that all about.

 

I saw his apology, and he seemed very sincere - just a dumb move.

 

I've heard he's not really a stand-up comedian, but I didn't think that meant he wsn't a stand-up guy.

[vwgolfer]

What were the hecklers saying to provoke such an outburst?

[rblmp32]

While he should not have said it maybe those guys should not have heckled him, heck remember how Toby was with Kramer and heckled Jerry. Jerry went down to Pendent and Toby got her little toe chopped off by a bus.

 

Street sweeper. ;)

 

 

Sorry, Kramer took control of a bus.

 

Because it was OUTTA control...

 

 

He still made all the stops though... while fighting off the robber who incapacitated the bus driver.

 

George likened him to Batman because of it.

[MrParr1Noid]

There are many ugly things we should take serious,,,and language is certainly a usual suspect in our world.There are also vulgar,racist,inflammatory words in rap or hip-hop[the latter a stupid term].If every black person who spewed a racial epithet while on stage were scrutinized and villified as Richards is now ,then many black comedians such as Richard Pryor[btw one of my favorites] and nearly all black rap "artists" would be considered "over the top". In the meantime we see men,women and children being tortured,raped ,mutilated,beheaded and other such "ugly" acts every day in our world.Lets get off the "word" game and pay more critical attention and hear more damnation about these more important headlines.As far as Richards goes,,,give him the same "tolerance" given to Richard Pryor and Al Sharpton or else check your own hypocracy.

 

You have summed up the situation up admirably, and I wholeheartedly agree with you. ;)

[Gxgolfer]

'Kramer' apologizes, hires crisis expert

 

LOS ANGELES - First he went on national television to apologize for his racial tirade against two black hecklers. Now

Michael Richards is taking his contriteness to the next level: he's hired a public relations expert with deep contacts in the black community.

 

 

New York publicist Howard Rubenstein took on Richards as a client Wednesday after being contacted by the actor-comedian. He then arranged for Richards to call the Revs.

Jesse Jackson and

Al Sharpton.

 

"I've known those gentlemen for many years," Rubenstein told The Associated Press.

 

"Michael apologized profusely. He wants to heal the tremendous wound that he's inflicted on the American public, and on the African-American community," he said.

 

Jackson, reached by phone, said Richards called "expressing his remorse and his confusion."

 

"He's embarrassed. He got caught on tape. That's a big part of his anxiety now," said Jackson.

 

"Clearly he needs some race sensibility training, and some psychiatric help. His anger is volatile and dangerous to himself and others," Jackson said. "I hope he gets the help he needs. But the culture that's producing this kind of animosity toward blacks must be addressed. ... We're increasingly facing cultural isolation in Hollywood, in the movies and in TV."

 

Jackson added, "We have to evaluate the use of the n-word and categorize it as hate speech, no matter who uses it."

 

Calls to Sharpton's home and to his National Action Network on Wednesday were not returned.

 

Richards, who played the kooky neighbor Kramer on the TV show "Seinfeld," lashed out at the hecklers last week during a performance at West Hollywood's Laugh Factory. A video of his rant then appeared on TMZ.com.

 

In a subsequent satellite appearance on David Letterman's "Late Show," Richards said his remarks were fueled by anger, not bigotry.

 

The

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People said in a statement Wednesday that the tirade and anti-Semitic comments by

Mel Gibson earlier this year point to a pervasive trend in American culture, and that Richards' declaration "is indicative of the type of denial that too often accompanies racist rhetoric."

 

Rubenstein, whose media relations firm specializes in "crisis management" according to the firm's Web site, said he had never met or spoken to Richards before the actor called him.

 

Clients of Rubenstein's firm include Amazon.com, the New York Yankees, ABC Inc., Walt Disney Co., Time Inc., News Corp., Columbia University, the NAACP Image Awards and Bloomberg L.P., according to the Web site.

 

"I've been very involved in the African-American community for 25 to 30 years," Rubenstein said. "It would be a tragedy if this exacerbated our race relations. I hope I can help. ... It's always been an effort on my part to improve African-American and Jewish ethnic relations."

 

As for reports that Richards shouted out anti-Semitic remarks during another standup comedy routine in April, Rubenstein confirmed his client did, but that he was only role-playing.

 

"He's Jewish. He's not anti-Semitic at all. He was role-playing, he was playing a part. He did use inappropriate language, but he doesn't have any anti-Semitic feelings whatsoever," Rubenstein said.

[asitlies]

There are many ugly things we should take serious,,,and language is certainly a usual suspect in our world.There are also vulgar,racist,inflammatory words in rap or hip-hop[the latter a stupid term].If every black person who spewed a racial epithet while on stage were scrutinized and villified as Richards is now ,then many black comedians such as Richard Pryor[btw one of my favorites] and nearly all black rap "artists" would be considered "over the top". In the meantime we see men,women and children being tortured,raped ,mutilated,beheaded and other such "ugly" acts every day in our world.Lets get off the "word" game and pay more critical attention and hear more damnation about these more important headlines.As far as Richards goes,,,give him the same "tolerance" given to Richard Pryor and Al Sharpton or else check your own hypocracy.

 

You have summed up the situation up admirably, and I wholeheartedly agree with you. (cool)

Unfortunately, they (hip-hop artists, Richard Pryor, etc.) didn't direct the comments PERSONALLY at members of the audience - it's a fine line, but it's different.

 

Chris Rock, as an example, doesn't single people out of the audience and say that 20 years ago, they would have been hung from a tree with a fork up their azz, nor does he keep repeating racial slurs at audience members. I used to go to a lot of stand-up, and, unfortunately, it looks like Michael Richards isn't "stand up" at all.

 

As I type this, I realize that the thing has pretty much blown over by now, hasn't it...

[Golf_Beauty]

Unfortunately, they (hip-hop artists, Richard Pryor, etc.) didn't direct the comments PERSONALLY at members of the audience - it's a fine line, but it's different.

 

Chris Rock, as an example, doesn't single people out of the audience and say that 20 years ago, they would have been hung from a tree with a fork up their azz, nor does he keep repeating racial slurs at audience members. I used to go to a lot of stand-up, and, unfortunately, it looks like Michael Richards isn't "stand up" at all.

 

As I type this, I realize that the thing has pretty much blown over by now, hasn't it...

 

You did mean "fortunately" right? :cheesy: Seriously, thank you for pointing that out...it's never directed personally at the audience and/or a member of the audience. Besides, Richard Pryor is from a different era, when being politically incorrect could or would get you slaughtered in the press.

 

Shoot, forget the government...we the people have turned in Big Brother. You never know when you're going to wind up on someone's camera phone or video camera. (cool)