By now, you’ve probably all heard about Michael Richards’ meltdown at an L.A. comedy club last Friday. Richards, better known as Kramer from the tv series “Seinfeld”, was being heckled during a stand-up routine, and responded by uncoupling his brain from his mouth and handing control over to a blind, career-destroying rage.
(From TMZ.com — CONTENT WARNING: extremely offensive and profane. Be sensitive to your surroundings if you choose to view the video):
The camera started rolling just as Richards began his attack, screaming at one of the men, “Fifty years ago we’d have you upside down with a f***ing fork up your ass.”
Richards continued, “You can talk, you can talk, you’re brave now motherf**ker. Throw his ass out. He’s a nigger! He’s a nigger! He’s a nigger! A nigger, look, there’s a nigger!”
The crowd is visibly and audibly confused and upset. Richards responds by saying, “They’re going to arrest me for calling a black man a nigger.”
There’s nothing funny about this incident, and there’s no context into which it can be placed to excuse it. He was completely over the top and out of control.
Rage is like that.
Last night, he appeared via satellite and apologized on David Letterman, who had already scheduled an appearance by Jerry Seinfeld. (TMZ story and video here, AP via Yahoonews:)
“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” in New York.
“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.
You know what? I believe that he’s stunned, confused, and deeply apologetic. However, I also think he needs to take himself off the comedy circuit and go get some help — not just on anger management, but for what came out of his mouth.
Meanwhile, I’ve got to figure out how I’ll ever be able to watch an episode of Seinfeld again — a show I loved — without mentally gagging every time Kramer makes an appearance.