By now I'm sure you've heard the news, but thanks to TMZ, a video of Michael Richards (better known as Cosmo Kramer from Seinfeld) going on a racist diatribe against an audience member during a comedy routine has surfaced and is creating quite the controversy.It was during a comedy routine at the Laugh Factory where Richards was apparently being heckled by a black man in the audience and Richards lost control. He says "50 years ago we'd have you upside down with a fucking fork up your ass!". Obviously referring to decades ago when it was common for black people to be lynched by mobs of whites. He then calls the man a nigger over and over again and says "This is what happens when you interrupt a white man" when the man says his comments were uncalled for. His rep said the comments were taken out of context when the news first broke, but then the video was put up on the internet and made the context quite clear. The incident:
"A sinister cabal of superior writers."
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— go to most recent comments1 - random browser
Saving face? They were heckling him all night long. They probably were using racial slurs before he started, and definitely used them afterward. That doesn't defend his actions, but then he doesn't either--his apology was sincere, whether you choose to accept it or not. He made a mistake, and he recognizes it. He lashed out at people who were verbally abusing him, seeking to abuse them, and crossing a line that shouldn't have been crossed. Michael Richards is not a racist and he doesn't deserve the treatment he's recieved.
2 - Chris Evans
And you have what proof that the hecklers were shouting racial slurs before Richards? Because none of the footage that I've seen has shown that.
3 - random browser
I didn't say I have proof, I don't. But the point is that we don't know; all we know is that they were heckling him, and that usually involves saying very mean things. Is it really all that less bad to say, "you're pathetic, get off stage, you're a failure", than "cracker ass"?
And, I'm sure you've gotten angry. We all do. Maybe you said something you didn't mean, and then realized minutes or hours later on, "wow, that was really mean of me."
Well, guess what? That's what Michael Richards did. He got angry, he said a bunch of things he shouldn't have, and then he realized what he said. That's something a great deal of people do. It doesn't excuse it, it only puts it in perspective. If you can honestly say that you have never said something to someone that you did not mean, that was hurtful, that was inappropriate, then you may place yourself on higher ground. Otherwise, can we not just all realize that we're human and that, as such, we're going to make mistakes?
If Richards wasn't apologizing, or for that matter, if he was doing so indirectly, then I could understand the continued criticism. But he's not. He's taking responsibility for his actions.
4 - Chris Evans
Of course he's taking responsibilty, my dear. Seinfeld Season 7 came out on DVD and they needed to protect their investment.
Why do you think of all places to apologize he would do it on Letterman? When Jerry Seinfeld was on as a guest.
5 - Chris Evans
And why are you giving him the benefit of the doubt by saying they were "probably" shouting racial slurs at him, when you have no idea if they were or weren't?
You don't talk about how someone should by lynched and think everything's alright when you apologize the next day.
It's not like he said "I hate you, you should be killed". That is something that you could say out of anger and sincerely apologize for.
But when what Michael said is the first thing to come to mind in anger, you're clearly a racist. And no apology is going to change that.
6 - random browser
But now, at this point, you are the one speculating on things (namely, motives) that you can not know.
Is it possible? Sure. It's possible Jerry Seinfeld wanted only to protect his financial investment. It's possible Michael Richards went along with this, to protect his own financial investment.
But that is speculation. What is obvious is the body language of Richards. His shoulders are slumped, he looks absolutely shell shocked. You can choose to believe it was an act, but you will be in the minority opinion. Watching the segment, I see it highly unlikely that Richards prepared it; if so, it wouldn't have been near as rambling or disjointed.
You should also recognize that this, realistically, was the quickest spot he could get to make a public apology. Otherwise, what would he have been left to do? Simply have a run-of-the-mill apology delivered by a PR person.
7 - random browser
And, to your second post, I know people who have said to others, when angered, that they wish they were dead. The most hurtful thing they could think of.
I know that Bill Hicks, when heckled by Jewish people, would say something to the extent of, "I wish Hitler would have finished the job." Hicks wasn't anti semitic, he was merely aiming to hurt. So was Richards. And he referenced the first thing that came to mind, that being lynchings, something which anyone with a modicum of understanding of American history would know of. If it had been a Jew, he'd have referenced the Holocaust. And so on. The intent was to hurt, out of anger. Not a secret racist fury suddenly bursting through after 25 years in the entertainment industry.
8 - Chris Evans
You're delusional if you think most people took that apology seriously. You're the ONLY person I've seen or talked to that believed the comments were uncalled for that actually thinks his apology makes up for what he said.
And what exactly would lead you to believe Hicks WASN'T anti-semitic?
9 - Garner
Yeah, despicable...I might have trouble watching him on Seinfeld now.
And I hate that he's saying "I'm not a racist. That's the craziest thing about this."
Um, newsflash. If you're not a racist, those words would never even cross your mind to say.
Same goes for you, Mel.
10 - C Sloan
Good point. And I don't care how drunk you are, you said what you said, and I don't think Michael was drunk. And the sad thing is, I probrably won't be able to watch Seinfeld like a used to.
11 - Andy Davoli
Michael Richards: "I lost my temper on stage. 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 and said some pretty nasty things to some Afro-Americans, a lot of trash talk, and uh..."
That's all I'll say.
12 - random browser
Well, a quick search for those sharing my interpretation of Richards' apology (in regards to it being sincere):
one
two
three
As for it 'making up' for what he said, I don't think it's a matter of 'making up' for it. It's not as if there's some scorecard, where he gets a -10 for his remarks, and then a +8 for his apology, leaving him two in the red. This isn't something you "make up" for. You apologize, take steps to make amens, and then move on. How can we ever move toward unity in this country if we refuse to accept apologies?
As for Hicks, it's another case where we don't know. I don't know if he was anti semitic. I know that his friends, some of which were Jewish, didn't seem to think so, as they ranked him as one of the 20 greatest comedians (in the "Comedians Comedian). Comedy Central ranked him number 19, all time. Surely they wouldn't give this to an anti Semite?
13 - Jenni
He didn't actually say, "... why the rage is in any of us," did he? And he invoked international hostility to describe the mystery of why he spewed racist garbage on stage?
Sorry, man, but a lot of waxing philosophical about the rage of mankind and equivocating about being in character - what the hell kind of character was that!? - isn't gonna cut it. And no kind of envelope-pushing, or spontaneity, or free associating is gonna cover his butt for referencing lynching and bellowing the N-word like an anthem.
He can talk in circles all he wants about trying to understand his inner rage, but sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. And sometimes a racist is just a racist.
14 - Jenni
Lmfao @ him bringing up Katrina!!!
15 - Audra McDonald
Yeah, the Letterman appearance was interesting and uncomfortable.
The audience's laughter at the beginning of the segment was just as uncomfortable, until Seinfeld had to tell them to stop laughing. I think there's still people who haven't heard about this, so they thought it was a joke.
But really, there's no way of talking yourself out of this one, Michael. Sorry.
16 - Davey
That made Mel Gibson look like St. Mel.
His career is going to go down deeper.
17 - CS Loan
I totally did not get Michael's point last night on Letterman. He brought up some really random stuff.
18 - Chris Evans
I went to Gawker..and these are the first few comments I saw:
Okay, maybe Michael Richards DOES care about black people.
If you watch the video, what was more offensive than calling the heckler a nigger is the fact that he said "50 years ago we would have had you hanging upside down with a fork in your ass."
Nice one. And there you have it... the spark of the '07 Race War coming soon!
11/21/06 12:23 PM
No commenter image uploaded Sigerson Holmes says:
Man, I love his new act! Haven't heard from him in awhile but he's really out there on the cutting edge! Awesome stuff dude!
11/21/06 12:38 PM
Image of redondodubonnet redondodubonnet says:
Hold on. I don't get this. Wasn't Gabe Kaplan an afro American?
11/21/06 12:46 PM
No commenter image uploaded bloggadocio says:
When can we expect the "checking into rehab" announcement? Come on, Kramer - racism is always forgivable if you're high as a kite or drunk as a skunk because then it's not your fault, right?
11/21/06 12:49 PM
Image of colinsmith colinsmith says:
Art Garfunkel, Gabe Kaplan, and the kicked-in-the-nuts guy gladly accept.
11/21/06 01:02 PM
Image of spinachdip spinachdip says:
Gwyneth Paltrow accepts his apology.
11/21/06 01:07 PM
Image of ZiggyStardust ZiggyStardust says:
Sad. But when is he going to apologize for the bad haircut?
11/21/06 01:20 PM
Image of Toothy Tile Toothy Tile says:
Well, Michael Richards was part of Andy Kaufman's bizarro uncomfortable-shtick in the past. I got so many whiffs of Andy Kaufman from this whole charade that I wouldn't be shocked if these were just Michael Richards' last grasps at relevance.
11/21/06 01:20 PM
Image of LRM216 LRM216 says:
Why do they all think they can totally flip out, say whatever the hell they want, act in whatever horrendous way they choose, and then, with a sorry-ass apology - wipe the slate clean. Sorry, but I just don't buy it.
11/21/06 01:31 PM
Image of Lucia Toledo Lucia Toledo says:
Richards once told a friend of mine, who was cast in a Latino role on "Seinfeld" but objected to the character's portrayal, to "just shut up and take the money."
19 - Twiz
random browser has lost his mind if he thinks the MAJORITY of people have forgiven Michael after that apology.
and with regards to Comedy Central ranking him whatever and they wouldn't do that if he was anti-semitic..
uhh..maybe they didn't know he was anti-semitic just as you don't seem to know either.
20 - Jet in Columbus
Let he who is without sin cast the first stone, like there's someone here who hasn't said something they wished they could've taken back after they'd said it in a fit of anger?
21 - random browser
twiz, what you are attempting to say is that those who knew him personally, who knew him best, were somehow in the dark as to his beliefs. I find this hard to believe.
To anyone who knew Trent Lott, or was even remotely familiar with him, his outburst at Strom Thurman's 100th birthday party was not surprise. *GASP* Trent Lott has a soft spot for segregationists? No, no surprise. People knew what he was like, and what he believed in. They know who the racists are. They know who the closet gays are. You don't keep secrets in Washington, and you don't keep them in Hollywood, either.
If you are a racist, it doesn't go unnoticed in a sensitive field like entertainment or politics (movies for less attractive people, so it's called). Especially not for 26 years. I'm sorry but you're asking me to believe that a brooding racist was able to completely mask it until one day he was outed by an unruly heckler.
Now, what seems more likely? That Richards pulled the wool over everyone's eyes for a quarter century, or that he lost his cool and said mean and inappropriate things, which in hindsight, he saw were abhorrent? I don't think there's logic in the former.
22 - Lisa mojo
Why is he even being thought of as mabey NOT a racist by some people ? If joe smoe said those things to someone where i'm from they're racist(and probably in for an ass whuppintg) that's as simple as that why does he get off the hook? The man is a racist plain and simple.
23 - Lisa mojo
Why is he even being thought of as mabey NOT a racist by some people ? If joe smoe said those things to someone where i'm from they're racist(and probably in for an ass whuppintg) that's as simple as that why does he get off the hook? The man is a racist plain and simple.
24 - Sam
'Pull a Mel Gibson'?? Hell yeah! I wish I could 'pull' one: make a movie, market it successfully, make almost a billion bucks, buy an island. Yes, I'd be very happy to 'pull a Mel Gibson'.
Who gives a rat's hinny what Mel said while drunk?? Just as interesting as Pres. Carter's 'riods..... Old news, get over it already! *So stupid, reporters that can't write trying to 'be clever'...geez...blantant stupidity....*
25 - Twiz
Now, what seems more likely? That Richards pulled the wool over everyone's eyes for a quarter century, or that he lost his cool and said mean and inappropriate things, which in hindsight, he saw were abhorrent? I don't think there's logic in the former.
Any by everyone you mean whom? We didn't know Mel Gibson was an anti-semite until putting two and two together from Passion of the Christ and his sick remarks.
You don't think there are hundreds of people in the entertainment industry that are bigots that we don't know are? Hell, there are people we go to work with every damn day that are racist that we don't know are.