Actor Michael Richards, best known for his role as Cosmo Kramer on the nine-season sitcom “Seinfeld,” saw his career come crashing down after a racially charged outburst during a stand-up performance in 2006.
Nearly two decades later, Richards opens up about the incident, saying he was immediately sorry for hurling the N-word at guests in the audience. However, many of his Black viewers aren’t buying it.
Richards shares candidly what happened that night at the Laugh Factory in West Hollywood in an upcoming memoir about his life and career titled “Entrances and Exits” published by Simon & Schuster. During his set, he was heckled by audience members, who apparently were Black, which led to a highly offensive rambling.
Richards responded to the heckling by using the N-word multiple times, directing his anger and racial slurs at the audience. The incident was captured on video and widely circulated, causing immediate backlash and damaging his reputation.
During an interview promoting his book with People, he explains how he felt as soon as the words fell from his lips.
“I was immediately sorry the moment I said it onstage,” the 74-year-old said. “My anger was all over the place, and it came through hard and fast. Anger is quite a force. But it happened. Rather than run from it, I dove into the deep end and tried to learn from it. It hasn’t been easy.”
It was also important that Richards share that this was not rooted in a hatred for Black people.
“I’m not racist. I have nothing against Black people,” he said before stating, “The man who told me I wasn’t funny had just said what I’d been saying to myself for a while. I felt put down. I wanted to put him down.”
According to Richards, his crisis managers wanted him to do “damage control.”
“As far as I was concerned, the damage was inside of me,” he told People.
Despite Richards’ acknowledgment of his foul behavior, some can’t forget his harsh words on stage.
“Sure, he has nothing against Black people. It must’ve been the stage 1 prostate cancer that made you yell “ng—r,” said one X user, referencing an entry in the “Seinfeld” actor’s book in which he reveals he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in the summer of 2018.
“That wasn’t just anger, that was the most racist tirade from a celebrity possibly ever caught on video,” tweeted another.
When an X user commented that “Kramer” did nothing wrong, another responded, “You’re right cus Kramer is a fictional character while Michael Richards is the one who called for the black hecklers to be lynched.”
Richards has explained before that his tirade was a result of pent-up anger and frustration. He tried to make amends by apologizing on various platforms, including an appearance on “The Late Show with David Letterman” in 2006.
“I lost my temper on stage. I was at the comedy club trying to do my act, and I got heckled and took it badly and went into a rage. Said some pretty nasty things to Afro-Americans, a lot of trash talk,” he explained. “I’m really busted up over this and I’m really sorry …”
The Kramer from Seinfeld apology is still uncomfortable.
— R82TV (@R82FILMS) February 6, 2023
The audience laughing is so strange. pic.twitter.com/wBpeHcQzCd
More recently, in an interview with co-star Jerry Seinfeld in 2021, he broached the subject and said in reflection that he “should have been working on myself selflessly.”
His former boss and friend asked him if he wanted to return to comedy, and he said he did not.
“I busted up after the event. It broke me down,” he said. Seinfeld was sympathetic and said, “I know.”
Richards continued, “It was a selfish response. I took it too personally, and I should have just said, ‘You’re absolutely right, I’m not funny.’”
Despite his apologies, the incident left a lasting negative impact on his career and public image, ending a career that started back in the 1970s. “Entrances and Exits” hits the market on June 4.
