'Seinfeld' Actor's Racial Rampage

Zap2It.com | November 20, 2006

Michael Richards

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Michael Richards lost it at the Laugh Factory

Michael Richards has made many enemies after he lost his temper and issued a shocking racist tirade last Friday, Nov. 17.

The comedian was performing at the Laugh Factory in West Hollywood when he took offense at a group of people who were heckling him. In a crude video seen on TMZ.com, Richards can be heard using the N-word several times.

Audience member Kyle Doss claims that he was only "playfully heckling" Richards when the comdian suddenly turned on him and his friends.

Richards' attack was ugly from the very beginning, when he screamed, "Fifty years ago we'd have you upside down with a f***ing fork up your a**." At this point, the audience still wasn't certain what was going on, and thinking it was part of the act, they laughed and clapped.

As the former "Seinfeld" actor continued, however, more people in the audience could be heard whispering shocked comments and several stood up to leave.

"You can talk, you can talk, you're brave now motherf**ker," said Richards at one point. "Throw his a** out. He's a n****r! He's a n****r! He's a n****r! A n****r, look, there's a n****r!"

When people in the audience responded that his language was unfunny and unnecessary, Richards was unrepentant. "Well, you interrupted me, pal," he said, adding, "They're going to arrest me for calling a black man a n****r."

Later, Jerry Seinfeld issued the following statement about the incident: "I am sick over this. I'm sure Michael is also sick over this horrible, horrible mistake. It is so extremely offensive. I feel terrible for all the people who have been hurt."

Richards, 57, is best known as the loose-limbed, wacky neighbor Cosmo Kramer on "Seinfeld."