Seinfeld star goes racial
Michael Richards, who played the goofy Cosmo Kramer on the hit TV show "Seinfeld," appeared onstage at the Laugh Factory in West Hollywood. But his routine was no laughing matter.
Richards went into a full-scale racial tirade against several members of the audience who had been heckling the comedian throughout his show.
| Kyle Doss, an African-American, told TMZ he and some friends were in the cheap seats and he was playfully heckling Richards when suddenly, the comedian lost it. 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!" |
TMZ also has a blurred segment of video documenting the incident here
Dave McGurgan at phillyBurbs is defending Richards and asks if the guy who called Richards a "cracker" would be considered a racist as well? And Right from the Right talks about the PC over-reaction.
These are good questions to ask. What did the guys heckling Kramer say to get him fired up? Did the racial epithets start with Richards, or did someone else take it down the racist route? And is this guy really a racist for using a word many in the black community use on a daily basis?
You can draw your own conclusions from the media firestorm that will probably follow. But I think it was an incredibly insensitive, stupid, and yes, racist move.
Here's my problem with Richards. This guy is Kramer, one of my favorite characters from "Seinfeld". Maybe he hasn't had overwhelming success since the show ended. But he's still a highly successful and respected comedian. And with success come the hecklers, the stalkers, the nut jobs, and the blackmailers looking for ways to bring you down. He should know how to handle himself in these situations.
But Richards went after race. He could have simply asked the heckler to stop and then asked security to remove the disruptive member of the audience. But he lost his cool and said things almost anyone would find offensive. Who cares what the guy said to him. A comedian of his stature should know better. It's no different than an athlete losing his cool toward heckling fans of the opposing team. These guys get paid to put themselves out there in a public arena. You can't go racist on us and expect it to blow over.
Sadly my friends, I believe Richards, aka Kramer, really is a racist. The things he said just don't come to mind of anyone lives in a colorblind world.