Kramer goes nuts! - repeatedly shouts '******! - Merged Threads

[Dan]

This is sad. Of course, it was very mature of the guy to reply by calling him a cracker, but still, this is totally insane. Michael Richards needs help.

Please note that while the 4-letter words are bleeped, all uses of racial slurs (and there are many) are unedited.

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From TMZ.com (which also has video of it):

Michael Richards exploded in anger as he performed at a famous L.A. comedy club last Friday, hurling racial epithets that left the crowd gasping, and TMZ has obtained exclusive video of the ugly incident.

Richards, who played the wacky Cosmo Kramer on the hit TV show "Seinfeld," appeared onstage at the Laugh Factory in West Hollywood. It appears two guys, both African-American, were in the cheap seats 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 ******! He's a ******! He's a ******! A ******, look, there's a ******!"

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 ******."

One of the men who was the object of Richard's tirade was outraged, shouting back "That's un-f***ing called for, ain't necessary."

After the three-minute tirade, it appears the majority of the audience members got up and left in disgust.

Attempts to reach Richards' reps were unsuccessful.

 

[dmp]

Observation: The black man seemed like he was playing that up as being called a ****** actually HURT him. (shrug). If Kramer was a black man, it would not have been a big deal. But, I do agree, Mr. Richards was PATHETIC...he should be ashamed of himself.
Yeah - Mr. Richards has long since left what made him REALLY funny - Stanley Spidowsky.

 

[no1tovote4]

Stick a fork in him. He's done... He'll be working the Wit's End in Westminster Colorado next... It'll be the only job he can ever think of getting again, and that won't even last...

Fricking moron.

 

[The ClayTaurus]

I love it:

"That's uncalled for (for you to call me a ******) you fucking cracker-ass white boy."

 

[Mr. P]

Big deal..NOT!

 

[Dan]

Yeah - Mr. Richards has long since left what made him REALLY funny - Stanley Spidowsky.

And here I thought I was the only fan!

Big deal..NOT!

I don't think so. I'd say his career is now officially over, not that it was going great before this anyway.

 

[Annie]

Lord knows, I'm not making any excuses, but why does this just 'pick up' at this point? Why not earlier? It's unfortunate, as we have no idea of the baiting, if any.

 

[Dan]

I thought about that Kathianne, and TMZ isn't exactly the most reputable operation in town, so I wouldn't be surprised if the hecklers were plants that TMZ put in there, but who knows?

According to most reports, the hecklers were really being huge a-holes, but still, there's no need for what Richards displayed in this video. The absolute only excuse that would make it... not "forgivable", but not quite as offensive for me is if he were trying to do some sort of Andy Kaufman thing, which I don't really think is the case, unfortunately.

 

[no1tovote4]

These types of things never even enter my mind regardless of how "angry" I might become. I can't see a time I would act this way, nor do I think I would have stayed a moment longer than the third "N***er" and I only would have stayed that long because it would take that long for it to sink in...

 

[Mr. P]

Lord knows, I'm not making any excuses, but why does this just 'pick up' at this point? Why not earlier? It's unfortunate, as we have no idea of the baiting, if any.

Why? Well lets see. We just had Coretta Scott King interned next to Martin today here in Atlanta. Last week, they broke ground for the King memorial in D.C.

Hummmmm I wonder if any comedian ever used such language before. Nahhhh Woopie Goldberg never uses any race in her shows. Nahhhhhh

 

[no1tovote4]

Why? Well lets see. We just had Coretta Scott King interned next to Martin today here in Atlanta. Last week, they broke ground for the King memorial in D.C.

Hummmmm I wonder if any comedian ever used such language before. Nahhhh Woopie Goldberg never uses any race in her shows. Nahhhhhh

He was clearly not making a joke, he attempted to after his original outburst but it was a sad thing that never made it past his lips without the crowd realizing that it was simply a silly attempt to cover his original outburst.

There are comedians that use that word in a way that isn't like this. This was clearly more than a joke, IMO.

 

[Annie]

These types of things never even enter my mind regardless of how "angry" I might become. I can't see a time I would act this way, nor do I think I would have stayed a moment longer than the third "N***er" and I only would have stayed that long because it would take that long for it to sink in...

Ok, you got me there. Neither would I. Just not in my vocab, then again, I'm trying to look at this from another vantage point. I'm born and bred in the North. My only 'real dealings' with the South was in maybe '66'-'67. I went down to LA to visit my cousins. While they were 'poor', (way too many kids, 11), their mother's family wasn't. On the way down to her 'plantation', we passed some awful sites. Little kids playing in front of shacks, with no glass on the windows. Outhouses visable.

My cousins said, 'them ******* don't know any better and don't care.' I figured differently, though I wasn't in jr. high yet. After that, I was ripe for the civil rights stuff that followed King's assassination-led by my mom. She was always ashamed of her brother living down South, moreso for acting like that was his norm.

 

[dilloduck]

He really screwed up by speaking honestly. He got away with for quite awhile only because it was a comedy club but the crowd snapped and did the PC thing. Act SHOCKED and APPALLED by the word ****** and leave.

 

[Mr. P]

He was clearly not making a joke, he attempted to after his original outburst but it was a sad thing that never made it past his lips without the crowd realizing that it was simply a silly attempt to cover his original outburst.

There are comedians that use that word in a way that isn't like this. This was clearly more than a joke, IMO.

I don't care. Hecklers are that.. I don't have a problem with it. I do know many will though, and my guess is they will be Ni..black.

 

[dilloduck]

Ok, you got me there. Neither would I. Just not in my vocab, then again, I'm trying to look at this from another vantage point. I'm born and bred in the North. My only 'real dealings' with the South was in maybe '66'-'67. I went down to LA to visit my cousins. While they were 'poor', (way too many kids, 11), their mother's family wasn't. On the way down to her 'plantation', we passed some awful sites. Little kids playing in front of shacks, with no glass on the windows. Outhouses visable.

My cousins said, 'them ******* don't know any better and don't care.' I figured differently, though I wasn't in jr. high yet. After that, I was ripe for the civil rights stuff that followed King's assassination-led by my mom. She was always ashamed of her brother living down South, moreso for acting like that was his norm.

Those "black folks" STILL live in trashy places and even tho they "know better" they STILL don't care.They're just waiting for that next welfare check in the mail and the crack man to come down the street.

 

[Annie]

Those "black folks" STILL live in trashy places and even tho they "know better" they STILL don't care.They're just waiting for that next welfare check in the mail and the crack man to come down the street.

Times change, though I'm not sure all places do. GA has in most areas, so I'm told.

 

[dilloduck]

Times change, though I'm not sure all places do. GA has in most areas, so I'm told.

You'll have to ask Mr. P on GA but in TX the still don't give a damn after years and years of "opportunities". Welfare destroyed a race and a race killed itself by taking handouts from people they hate.

 

[red states rule]

Well, lets see if the Hollywood libs tear into Michael richards as they did Mel Gibson



Michael Richards, aka Kramer, spews racial slurs during stand-up


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.”


“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.”

His Laugh Factory tirade began after the two clubgoers shouted at him that he wasn't funny. A videotape of the incident was posted on TMZ.com.

Richards retorted: “Shut up! Fifty years ago we'd have you upside down with a f--- fork up your a-.”

He then paced across the stage taunting the men for interrupting his show, peppering his speech with racial slurs and profanities.

“You can talk, you can talk, you're brave now mother---. Throw his a- out. He's a n---!” Richards shouts before repeating the racial epithet over and over again.

Moderating his tone at one point, Richards tells the audience, “It shocks you, it shocks you” and refers to “what lays buried.”

While there is some chuckling in the audience throughout the outburst, someone can be heard gasping “Oh my God” and people respond with “ooh” after Richards uses the n-word.

Eventually someone calls out: “It's not funny. That's why you're a reject, never had no shows, never had no movies. 'Seinfeld,' that's it.”

On Monday, about a half-dozen community activists gathered at the club to denounce Richards' remarks and demand an apology.

“These kind of comments hurt all of us,” said protester Lita Sister Herron of the Youth Advocacy Coalition. She called Richards' comments hate speech.

The protesters also demanded an apology from the Laugh Factory. At a news conference a short time later, club owner Jamie Masada expressed remorse and said Richards will not be back at the club until he says he's sorry.

“This is one thing we don't tolerate. ... I personally apologize. I apologize from my heart,” Masada said Monday.

Richards did appear at the club Saturday, without incident, but that was because he had told the club he intended to apologize, according to a Laugh Factory statement Monday.

Rodriguez, also at the news conference, said: “I kept expecting a punch line. It didn't come.”

Veteran publicist Michael Levine, whose clients have included comedians George Carlin, Sam Kinison and Rodney Dangerfield, called Richards' remarks inexcusable. Comics often face hecklers without losing their cool, he said.

“It's never seen anything like this is my life,” Levine said Monday. “I think it's a career ruiner for him. ... It's going to be a long road back for him, if at all.”

Daryl Pitts, a Laugh Factory audience member interviewed by CNN, compared the incident to another recent celebrity controversy.

“You think about Mel Gibson and what he said, and put that in the context of this, it's very upsetting,” Pitts said, referring to Gibson's anti-Semitic outburst during his arrest for drunken driving.

Scrutiny of Richards' remarks likely will continue but won't match the level prompted by Gibson's behavior because Richards is far less famous, Levine said.

Comedian George Lopez told Los Angeles television station KTLA that he thought Richards' lack of stand-up experience may have been a factor.

“The question is you have an actor who is trying to be a comedian who doesn't know what to do when an audience is disruptive,” Lopez said. “He's an actor whose show has been off the air, he shouldn't ever be on a stand-up gig.”


http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20061120-1649-ca-people-michaelrichards.html

 

[Annie]

Well, lets see if the Hollywood libs tear into Michael richards as they did Mel Gibson



Michael Richards, aka Kramer, spews racial slurs during stand-up


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.”


“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.”

His Laugh Factory tirade began after the two clubgoers shouted at him that he wasn't funny. A videotape of the incident was posted on TMZ.com.

Richards retorted: “Shut up! Fifty years ago we'd have you upside down with a f--- fork up your a-.”

He then paced across the stage taunting the men for interrupting his show, peppering his speech with racial slurs and profanities.

“You can talk, you can talk, you're brave now mother---. Throw his a- out. He's a n---!” Richards shouts before repeating the racial epithet over and over again.

Moderating his tone at one point, Richards tells the audience, “It shocks you, it shocks you” and refers to “what lays buried.”

While there is some chuckling in the audience throughout the outburst, someone can be heard gasping “Oh my God” and people respond with “ooh” after Richards uses the n-word.

Eventually someone calls out: “It's not funny. That's why you're a reject, never had no shows, never had no movies. 'Seinfeld,' that's it.”

On Monday, about a half-dozen community activists gathered at the club to denounce Richards' remarks and demand an apology.

“These kind of comments hurt all of us,” said protester Lita Sister Herron of the Youth Advocacy Coalition. She called Richards' comments hate speech.

The protesters also demanded an apology from the Laugh Factory. At a news conference a short time later, club owner Jamie Masada expressed remorse and said Richards will not be back at the club until he says he's sorry.

“This is one thing we don't tolerate. ... I personally apologize. I apologize from my heart,” Masada said Monday.

Richards did appear at the club Saturday, without incident, but that was because he had told the club he intended to apologize, according to a Laugh Factory statement Monday.

Rodriguez, also at the news conference, said: “I kept expecting a punch line. It didn't come.”

Veteran publicist Michael Levine, whose clients have included comedians George Carlin, Sam Kinison and Rodney Dangerfield, called Richards' remarks inexcusable. Comics often face hecklers without losing their cool, he said.

“It's never seen anything like this is my life,” Levine said Monday. “I think it's a career ruiner for him. ... It's going to be a long road back for him, if at all.”

Daryl Pitts, a Laugh Factory audience member interviewed by CNN, compared the incident to another recent celebrity controversy.

“You think about Mel Gibson and what he said, and put that in the context of this, it's very upsetting,” Pitts said, referring to Gibson's anti-Semitic outburst during his arrest for drunken driving.

Scrutiny of Richards' remarks likely will continue but won't match the level prompted by Gibson's behavior because Richards is far less famous, Levine said.

Comedian George Lopez told Los Angeles television station KTLA that he thought Richards' lack of stand-up experience may have been a factor.

“The question is you have an actor who is trying to be a comedian who doesn't know what to do when an audience is disruptive,” Lopez said. “He's an actor whose show has been off the air, he shouldn't ever be on a stand-up gig.”


http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20061120-1649-ca-people-michaelrichards.html

Merged.

 

[Working Man]

News flash. Cramer,, Michael What's his name,, used the N word
to fend off some critics during his stand up routine. Yesterday??? Blacks are understandably pissed off. Some of the audience walked out of the show.. But,, the next day, Cramer was doing his stand up thing again.

Now,, Jerry Sienfeld came right to his buddy's defense and said it was a bad thing,, but tried to gloss over the remarks that angered so many... Can it be that more than one set of rules exist in the "comedy/entetainment" world?

Mel Gibson said some shit that he probably should have kept to himself, but is being persecuted to now end... We shall see if there are really two sets of rules and which side wants to apply them in this case.