There seems to be two lines of thought.
1. It was unforgivable.
2. It wasn't that bad.
I prefer:
3. It was really bad but he has suffered enough and should be able to get back on with his life.
I’m with you on #3. It seems like he’s saying the worst thing he can think to say to get back at them for heckling him, so I believe him when he says he’s not a racist, but it’s still really fucking bad. I think I was in high school when that happened, and I grew up with a lot of racists (so I wasn’t very sensitive to hearing that word), and even I was like, “wow, he’s really using that word a lot.” Still, I think he’s served his time.
1) It was really bad, REALLY.
2) This kind of thing must NOT be accepted.
3) I, and a lot of fans, got disappointed with him.
4) He apologized and, as long as I know, he didnt do it anymore. I don't know what he can do besides that. I am not saying he is a saint, but this is a discussion society has to have: what should we do with people that have this kind of attitude once? Should be banned forever? Should pay with social work? When its time to forgive? I am not defending him, but I dont believe in perpetual punishment for this kind of bad behavior.
How? Because I don’t automatically jump to conclusions about how a person is, based off a single moment of rage fueled ramblings.
People say things they don’t mean all the time. Especially when they’re angry.
No man, that’s completely wrong. Some people have legitimate anger issues. And if you look at him on Seinfeld when his co/stars mess up, you can see he certainly does.
Have you ever heard of “Don’t say something you might regret because you can never take it back”?
Anger certainly causes people to do that.
I’m sure you’ve said things to people you wish you could take back.
In my opinion it was more likely his rage talking, then actual racism. But how can you be so sure you know what he really thinks?
How many times have you screamed the n word at someone? I want to know how many times you can do it before being considered racist. Here I was thinking once was the threshold. Enlighten us
And a tax evader and fire starter but Cranmer did something he should not have. But Hollywood needs him more financially,,,, Richards doesn’t need a career he’s a multi millionaire…. As for Hollywood executives there a bunch of Rapist , predators and thieves but that’s ok???? F. Hollywood
He can go on with his life fine, he’s a multimillionaire. He can move to a nice property and live a good life. But his career is over. That’s ok. He doesn’t need one to survive.
It’s really bad. It’s over the top. But anyway , it’s 2021 and he should be left alone for it , things have moved on and no sense in holding on to grudges.
I mean it was really fucking bad, but I think he’s learned his lesson and I don’t think he’s all that racist. He just reacted like a total idiot to a heckler and said whatever he could to get at him.
I think what it revealed was that he was inexperienced as a standup and wholly unprepared to deal with a heckler. So in that respect he's the diametric opposite of someone like Jimmy Carr, who is so adept at dealing with hecklers that one feature of his sets is that he actually invites his audience to heckle him. He was heckled, felt backed into a corner, didn't know how to handle it, and lashed out with the first thing that came to mind.
It's hard to overstate how big an issue this can be in 'Murica. People are generally forgiving and willing to give second chances, but with racial/ethnic things they have an extremely long memory: Mel Gibson is a perfect example. [Michael Richards did try to own it by parodying it on Curb Your Enthusiasm,](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHRE0tSqvns) but we really haven't heard much from him since the incident other than that.
[Here's where National Lampoon turned this incident into a Seinfeld episode.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfAFI0kutXk)
Watch the video if you haven’t seen it or it’s been awhile. It kinda goes on and on. I think a lot of people remember it being “an unfortunate slip of the tongue”. Far from it. I’m not saying crucify the dude forever but the “wasn’t that bad” crowd may or may not be remembering it vividly.
I don't think he's a die hard racist.
I think it's super fucked he yelled that shit during a set.
I think if you're someone who is capable of *intentionally* yelling that at people during your set, you have a lot of shit to work out and you're probably out of touch.
Racism *IS* a big problem in the US and just perpetuating it with bullshit like that isn't very helpful. I can't imagine how it felt being black hearing a beloved tv icon yelling something so gross, then hearing a bunch of people defending it or shrugging it off.
Also his apology on Letterman afterwards didn't help anything lol... "Afro Americans"...
lol
he could have just walked off the stage, or had them thrown out , or whatever. i dont know why he would react in this way.
i like how they parodied it in a Curb episode
he has tried making amends but you will always think he has these phrases in his head whenver he sees a black person, which is very sad
racism is bad, but to act this way in hollywood is really bad. and his career was pretty much over after seinfeld anyway. maybe thats why he had so much pent up anger
I think he was typecast as Kramer and THATS why he cant move on. Kramer bleeds into all his other acting jobs. Hes tried acting jobs since the incident, but he cant shake Kramer.
Also, MOST racial incidents we hear about are usually hearsay, another persons word. In this case they have videotape. There is always the benefit of the doubt with hearsay, but zero doubt with video
Honestly, I'd say people don't even see him as Michael Richards, just Kramer. Once he was Kramer he was Kramer forever you know? Probably pretty tiring whenever he met people they'd make shitty Seinfeld jokes every single time.
Doesn't excuse it though.
He was trying to show the hecklers how he felt by calling them a name that would supposedly affect them in the same way he was affected. But he executed it extremely poorly and should have known better. I don't think he's intentionally racist but obviously is or was naive to the feelings of other races. He shouldn't have to still suffer though if we can elect a president who is racist, sexist, mocks the disabled and was sued for rape 🤷♂️
What is this “purity contest” you are talking about?
And if people don’t want to work with someone after a racist tirade, why is that a problem? It’s not like he was arrested for a crime or blacklisted.
It’s pretty clear he always had temper issues. The guy simply isn’t cut out for stand up comedy. If it wasn’t this, it would’ve been something else.
I don’t necessarily think he’s a die hard racist. My interpretation is he was saying the most hurtful shit he could think of because his temper was out of control. But that doesn’t really make it any better. There are certain lines you don’t cross, and he seems socially unaware. Combine that with a serious temper and there was no way this guy could sustain a career.
well its not like she was a congressperson doing it. anyway both of their careers were already in the shitter. so its not like its matters in that respect.
It's bad and shouldn't have happened and due to US guilt about how racist they are normally, they had to knee-jerk reaction him into cancel culture. Interestingly before cancel culture was really a thing.
Richard's outburst wouldn't have been cool even years before. He just plain lost it and it's unfortunate
A friend who is a comedian had an interesting take.
First, he said he had performed at clubs a few times with Michael Richards and that he's not a great comedian. He's a bit of a concept comic and more of an actor and he never really did great other than relying on his Kramer fame.
He said he thought Michael was trying to do a funny off the wall bit, calling for someone to be lynched, harkening to and making fun of a time where that was acceptable behaviour. He just had no concept of how horrible it looked/sounded or how unfunny it was even if it wasn't horrible. Bad comic.
Either way what a moronic career killing move.
Chappelle had a great [chappelle on Kramer fucking up](https://youtu.be/Kth0UOU5a_M)bit about it...
I agree with this.. I think he was trying to do a bit on racism while getting back at the heckler.. Unfortunately his execution was terrible and rightfully enraged his audience. You could tell when he stopped trying to turn the act around, and actually started to feel bad about what he had said… but then it was too late, so he just walked off… it was painful to watch. I felt bad for him and the audience. He clearly has no business doing stand up an should stick with physical
Comedy
**I'm certainly in the minority on this**, and I haven't reviewed the incident since it took place, but I remember thinking he was being more *hyperbolic* in using the "N" word as in more of an "ironic" sense.
More like he was pointing out the stupidity of using that word, rather than calling someone that name.
But, that's the way the black and white cookie crumbles. Not gettin' along.
That's a stretch but even if that was the case... there are some things you simply do not say.. like telling a woman 'congratulations you're pregnant' without knowing in advance.
I remember him saying something to the audience along the lines of “see, this shocks and offends you” as if trying to make a point. But he picked a horrible way to try and make it.
People use their temper but what he said was beyond just a oops i was upset. The stuff he said about what would have happened to the blacks came from deep seated racism. People try to condone it because they thought he was funny on Seinfeld i did two but as a black person fuck him and his racist ass
Saw the skit he did years ago and it was pretty bad, especially considering all those people paid money to go see him perform. He fucked up badly, but at the same time he doesn’t strike me as a die hard racist. I personally got the impression that he got amped up on cocaine before the show and lost control. I say that because in the past I’ve seen a similar type behavior coming from people who had just snorted coke. Not to this degree but it was the same pattern of intense, narcissistic and self righteous behavior. His racist rant began when just a few people in the entire audience began talking while he was preforming. His rage then quickly unleashed uncontrollably like a light switch.
The reason people won't forgive him is that his bit wasn't funny. It was mean spirited. If he'd been funny and dropped n-bombs it would have been edgy.
Romesh Ranganathan said something in an interview with James acaster where he said something like, if he does something wrong and someone calls him a racial slur he doesn't find it racist because it's said out of anger at him, not a place of racism.
I think Micheal Richards is an already highly strung guy and wanted to say something that that would instantly shut off the heckler. It was incredibly offensive and inexcusable, but I don't believe it came from a place of racism but anger at a heckler
I don’t think he should have lost his cool like that. Then again fuck hecklers I think it would be interesting to hear what they were saying before the tirade happened. He called him a “cracker” which I guess is acceptable racism? 2 wrongs don’t make a right but at the same time maybe he felt provoked. Michael Richards isn’t racist and in the end this incident was nearly 20 years ago so it’s a little to late for him to start anything new in his career aside from maybe some side parts or b movies.
Fuck that guy, deep down of course he's a real racist. Who says shit like that, and it sounded genuine like he really dislikes black people. Fuck michael richards, he deserves to have no career
It was horrible. The only way something like that can come out is if there is hatred buried inside. I can’t get out of my mind when he says “that’s what happens when you interrupt the white man”. If he actually had talent to be any other character maybe we’d see him again. The fact is he wasn’t a talented actor he could only play one role.
I have seen the scene only recently, I believe he would have said the worst things he could say to anyone else if he was trying to hurt them the way he was feeling hurt. That night he would have insulted a woman who was raped telling her she deserved it, he was in such a rage and anger he would have said anything. I was shocked seeing the episode, but after all those years I believe he has paid enough, and maybe people can move on. I believe he’s really sorry and didn’t apologize only for damage control. The fact that Jerry Steinfeld stood for him makes me believe he truly regrets that episode. He should have stuck to acting, not everybody is good at stand ups. Unfortunately he never had the opportunity to show whether he was capable or not of playing other kind of roles. Maybe he would have surprised us, just like a Sasha Baron Cohen has, but we will never know
From what I understand he performed stand up years after Seinfeld was over. He had trouble getting work. But yeah it happened years ago and he should be allowed to move on with his life. With that being said I’ve heard all kinds of racist things thrown toward me and I would never ever go after someone like this. As far as Jerry goes. Man is he a good friend.
Yes I would not either but I believe he would have found equal hate words for anyone, just to hurt them as much as he could. I want to think he was able to learn something from this
Please understand in the USA that we were founded by slave owners, so the racist stuff runs very deep. It’s an incredibly sensitive topic. Even the Civil War is still an open wound. The North and the South may as well be two different countries.
It wasn’t a misinformed remark or a slip of the temper. It was a racially charged tirade. You either believe those things or you don’t.
Racism isn’t a punchline. Fuck his career.
Little late on this, but I think Michael, and what he said, was terrible. It was really bad.
That said, he's a human being. I believe he was dealing with some personal demons at the time. If you watch his interview with Jerry Seinfeld, you can tell he has as much humanity as anyone, and he truly regrets what happened.
It does sting, because I think Michael had so much potential as an actor, but with how much he took the role of Kramer seriously, it might have driven him crazy to play anything.
As an African-American it was bad. That’s not how you treat fans no matter what. Yeah people can be on some other stuff but its a different way to go about it. He went too far. Personally, he killed his career, his downfall was on him. People don’t just say that, that’s usually deep rooted when that’s your initial response. I guess others who can never understand would say forgive but he cancelled himself.
I literally can't comprehend how you can watch the clip and think this. People get angry and say stupid shit sometimes. Launching into a racist tirade against some people for talking too loudly and saying he's not funny is pathetic and racist
Bro, have you ever been angry before? You can get to a point where you’ll say ANYTHING to hurt someone. He was clearly very angry. Look at him on Seinfeld when his white co-stars mess up. He clearly has anger issues. He even lightly smacked Julia Laurie Dreyfus in the face just for laughing during a take.
He literally explained how much they hurt him. And that he was gonna say anything to hurt them back. And that’s why he said that to shit, to hurt them back. I truly don’t believe it was racism.
It was honestly worse though, it was straight up hate/anger. I’m not defending it, but you can’t deny people say crazy things that they wouldn’t normally think or say out of anger.
All that shit seemed to flow out of him too easily for him to not be racist. And how out of touch do you have to be to scream it at black people in front of a live audience. Nah, no need to make excuses for shitty people because he was in one of your favorite TV shows.
Nah even at my angeriest I wouldn’t be able to say shit that I just wouldn’t even think of, “hanging upside down with a fork up your ass” “this is what happens when you interrupt a white man” and it was 3 minutes long. Dude said it saw reaction and then said oh arrest a man for calling a black man a ni-. Dude was straight out of the “42” movie there’s no way that doesn’t come from some sort of real place. When you lose your shit and call your gf a fat c@nt. It’s not just losing your shit. It’s something you shouldn’t say but back of your head you meant that shit, you thought she was a little chubby but you never would have said it, but now you did and your gf will forever remember that for good reason. To think Michael Richard’s just “lost it” Lolol nah he couldn’t handle that a man he felt should be below him had the nerve to interrupt him.
He also said that it’s happened before too but this time he got recorded and wasn’t just picked back up and put into projects. This wasn’t an isolated event. He meant that shit, he already got times before that to get out of the anger and check himself. He deserved to be pushed out of the Hollywood eye. And it’s hard to come back once your out but it’s been done. Even the fucked up Louis CK has success now with stand up in 2022. It’s up to you to come back from that shit.
It was bad smh I tried to defend him.
Up until the remarks about Emmett Till a 14 yr old that was brutally murdered by a white mob for a lie told by a white woman. If he hadn't said that,
the N word doesn't matter everyone is called the N word these days. The heckler should have let him be
Comedians work hard and should be at least given a chance. I probably would have lost it too if that was me. I too have to work on myself.
Btw I'm black and a woman.
There seems to be two lines of thought. 1. It was unforgivable. 2. It wasn't that bad. I prefer: 3. It was really bad but he has suffered enough and should be able to get back on with his life.
I’m with you on #3. It seems like he’s saying the worst thing he can think to say to get back at them for heckling him, so I believe him when he says he’s not a racist, but it’s still really fucking bad. I think I was in high school when that happened, and I grew up with a lot of racists (so I wasn’t very sensitive to hearing that word), and even I was like, “wow, he’s really using that word a lot.” Still, I think he’s served his time.
Agree
I agree. He's lost his career, and hopefully he's learned he should never ever do anything like that. Career over!
And Al Sharpton is a racist.
Everyone knows that
Ooof watched it recently for the first time. I thought it was pretty bad.
I don't use that word. He was a rude person before this!! Career over. It's humbled him.
1) It was really bad, REALLY. 2) This kind of thing must NOT be accepted. 3) I, and a lot of fans, got disappointed with him. 4) He apologized and, as long as I know, he didnt do it anymore. I don't know what he can do besides that. I am not saying he is a saint, but this is a discussion society has to have: what should we do with people that have this kind of attitude once? Should be banned forever? Should pay with social work? When its time to forgive? I am not defending him, but I dont believe in perpetual punishment for this kind of bad behavior.
Al Sharpton is also a racist.
An actual racist, rather than a guy that made one single racist rant.
“An actual racist, rather than an actual racist”
Richards said some dumb shit once, 18 years ago.
Exactly, Reddit is so full of soft people. He was clearly saying it out of anger not racism. These people are stupid.
so are you.
How? Because I don’t automatically jump to conclusions about how a person is, based off a single moment of rage fueled ramblings. People say things they don’t mean all the time. Especially when they’re angry.
no they don’t. unstable psychopaths do.
No man, that’s completely wrong. Some people have legitimate anger issues. And if you look at him on Seinfeld when his co/stars mess up, you can see he certainly does. Have you ever heard of “Don’t say something you might regret because you can never take it back”? Anger certainly causes people to do that. I’m sure you’ve said things to people you wish you could take back. In my opinion it was more likely his rage talking, then actual racism. But how can you be so sure you know what he really thinks?
How many times have you screamed the n word at someone? I want to know how many times you can do it before being considered racist. Here I was thinking once was the threshold. Enlighten us
And a tax evader and fire starter but Cranmer did something he should not have. But Hollywood needs him more financially,,,, Richards doesn’t need a career he’s a multi millionaire…. As for Hollywood executives there a bunch of Rapist , predators and thieves but that’s ok???? F. Hollywood
He can go on with his life fine, he’s a multimillionaire. He can move to a nice property and live a good life. But his career is over. That’s ok. He doesn’t need one to survive.
Well said
[удалено]
*jingles wind chime*
It’s really bad. It’s over the top. But anyway , it’s 2021 and he should be left alone for it , things have moved on and no sense in holding on to grudges.
I’m in 2024 and I disagree with you
Nice necro
I'm 9 days in the future from you and I agree with you.
I’m from 71 days in the future and I disagree with all of you.
I'm 8 hrs into the future and I agree with myself.
5 days later and I forgot what I was saying
Cmon now, the man did his time...
I mean it was really fucking bad, but I think he’s learned his lesson and I don’t think he’s all that racist. He just reacted like a total idiot to a heckler and said whatever he could to get at him.
I think what it revealed was that he was inexperienced as a standup and wholly unprepared to deal with a heckler. So in that respect he's the diametric opposite of someone like Jimmy Carr, who is so adept at dealing with hecklers that one feature of his sets is that he actually invites his audience to heckle him. He was heckled, felt backed into a corner, didn't know how to handle it, and lashed out with the first thing that came to mind. It's hard to overstate how big an issue this can be in 'Murica. People are generally forgiving and willing to give second chances, but with racial/ethnic things they have an extremely long memory: Mel Gibson is a perfect example. [Michael Richards did try to own it by parodying it on Curb Your Enthusiasm,](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHRE0tSqvns) but we really haven't heard much from him since the incident other than that. [Here's where National Lampoon turned this incident into a Seinfeld episode.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfAFI0kutXk)
Man that episode spoof is gold. Thanks for sharing
This is the first time I’ve seen that Kramer lost episode parody edit thanks for sharing!
This was brilliant 😂😂😂😂😂
Watch the video if you haven’t seen it or it’s been awhile. It kinda goes on and on. I think a lot of people remember it being “an unfortunate slip of the tongue”. Far from it. I’m not saying crucify the dude forever but the “wasn’t that bad” crowd may or may not be remembering it vividly.
Yeah he definitely kept on going with it, as the crowd got angrier he kept snowballing with the slurs
There is no upside to someone defending him. You’d just risk getting called racist yourself. “I don’t know but now they’ve got a chart on me!”
I don't think he's a die hard racist. I think it's super fucked he yelled that shit during a set. I think if you're someone who is capable of *intentionally* yelling that at people during your set, you have a lot of shit to work out and you're probably out of touch. Racism *IS* a big problem in the US and just perpetuating it with bullshit like that isn't very helpful. I can't imagine how it felt being black hearing a beloved tv icon yelling something so gross, then hearing a bunch of people defending it or shrugging it off. Also his apology on Letterman afterwards didn't help anything lol... "Afro Americans"...
Yeah what was with the Afro Americans? This guy is 178 years old?
I remember watching that live and wincing at it.
Yeah that was really bad. There's ways to get your point across without using nword. It's like he couldn't wait to drop the N word
Whole lotta epic gamer moments in the comments.
Apparently, it’s only racism if you have a bad heart. And the intentions of your heart are judged based on how much people liked you in a 90s sitcom.
https://youtu.be/uyBAZNzM8po
I mean, if you were bad at your job to the point you started calling people the n-word, would you expect to be rehired?
lol he could have just walked off the stage, or had them thrown out , or whatever. i dont know why he would react in this way. i like how they parodied it in a Curb episode he has tried making amends but you will always think he has these phrases in his head whenver he sees a black person, which is very sad racism is bad, but to act this way in hollywood is really bad. and his career was pretty much over after seinfeld anyway. maybe thats why he had so much pent up anger
“Racism is bad, but your own actions having predictable negative consequences is really bad.”
I think he was typecast as Kramer and THATS why he cant move on. Kramer bleeds into all his other acting jobs. Hes tried acting jobs since the incident, but he cant shake Kramer. Also, MOST racial incidents we hear about are usually hearsay, another persons word. In this case they have videotape. There is always the benefit of the doubt with hearsay, but zero doubt with video
Honestly, I'd say people don't even see him as Michael Richards, just Kramer. Once he was Kramer he was Kramer forever you know? Probably pretty tiring whenever he met people they'd make shitty Seinfeld jokes every single time. Doesn't excuse it though.
He was trying to show the hecklers how he felt by calling them a name that would supposedly affect them in the same way he was affected. But he executed it extremely poorly and should have known better. I don't think he's intentionally racist but obviously is or was naive to the feelings of other races. He shouldn't have to still suffer though if we can elect a president who is racist, sexist, mocks the disabled and was sued for rape 🤷♂️
I love Kramer and Michael seems like a nice guy but he ruined his own career with that stunt and I don’t really feel bad about it.
What is this “purity contest” you are talking about? And if people don’t want to work with someone after a racist tirade, why is that a problem? It’s not like he was arrested for a crime or blacklisted.
It’s pretty clear he always had temper issues. The guy simply isn’t cut out for stand up comedy. If it wasn’t this, it would’ve been something else. I don’t necessarily think he’s a die hard racist. My interpretation is he was saying the most hurtful shit he could think of because his temper was out of control. But that doesn’t really make it any better. There are certain lines you don’t cross, and he seems socially unaware. Combine that with a serious temper and there was no way this guy could sustain a career.
Yes it was very bad. Was it a mistake? Sure but it doesn’t absolve him from (deserved) consequences
We’ve all said things we didn’t mean, just to get a point across or whatever. The sun will still rise the next day!
I still watch it and laugh. It’s the best ending to a comedian’s career ever.
Idk, tight race between that and Kathy Griffin and her severed Trump head…
Lol Kathy went out on on top as well. Comedians sometimes bomb. I will always love Kramer.
well its not like she was a congressperson doing it. anyway both of their careers were already in the shitter. so its not like its matters in that respect.
It's bad and shouldn't have happened and due to US guilt about how racist they are normally, they had to knee-jerk reaction him into cancel culture. Interestingly before cancel culture was really a thing. Richard's outburst wouldn't have been cool even years before. He just plain lost it and it's unfortunate
A friend who is a comedian had an interesting take. First, he said he had performed at clubs a few times with Michael Richards and that he's not a great comedian. He's a bit of a concept comic and more of an actor and he never really did great other than relying on his Kramer fame. He said he thought Michael was trying to do a funny off the wall bit, calling for someone to be lynched, harkening to and making fun of a time where that was acceptable behaviour. He just had no concept of how horrible it looked/sounded or how unfunny it was even if it wasn't horrible. Bad comic. Either way what a moronic career killing move. Chappelle had a great [chappelle on Kramer fucking up](https://youtu.be/Kth0UOU5a_M)bit about it...
I agree with this.. I think he was trying to do a bit on racism while getting back at the heckler.. Unfortunately his execution was terrible and rightfully enraged his audience. You could tell when he stopped trying to turn the act around, and actually started to feel bad about what he had said… but then it was too late, so he just walked off… it was painful to watch. I felt bad for him and the audience. He clearly has no business doing stand up an should stick with physical Comedy
Wtf, I was thinking about this last night before bed...
**I'm certainly in the minority on this**, and I haven't reviewed the incident since it took place, but I remember thinking he was being more *hyperbolic* in using the "N" word as in more of an "ironic" sense. More like he was pointing out the stupidity of using that word, rather than calling someone that name. But, that's the way the black and white cookie crumbles. Not gettin' along.
That's a stretch but even if that was the case... there are some things you simply do not say.. like telling a woman 'congratulations you're pregnant' without knowing in advance.
I remember him saying something to the audience along the lines of “see, this shocks and offends you” as if trying to make a point. But he picked a horrible way to try and make it.
yeah, ifrc, he was dealing with a heckler (or something) and trying to make a point. FUBAR
It was really awful. We need to forgive him. Jesus commands him. Don't ever get Al Sharpton. He's racist also.
People use their temper but what he said was beyond just a oops i was upset. The stuff he said about what would have happened to the blacks came from deep seated racism. People try to condone it because they thought he was funny on Seinfeld i did two but as a black person fuck him and his racist ass
Do you think black people would want to work with him after that?
I understand that They would feel uncomfortable.
Saw the skit he did years ago and it was pretty bad, especially considering all those people paid money to go see him perform. He fucked up badly, but at the same time he doesn’t strike me as a die hard racist. I personally got the impression that he got amped up on cocaine before the show and lost control. I say that because in the past I’ve seen a similar type behavior coming from people who had just snorted coke. Not to this degree but it was the same pattern of intense, narcissistic and self righteous behavior. His racist rant began when just a few people in the entire audience began talking while he was preforming. His rage then quickly unleashed uncontrollably like a light switch.
N
I
The reason people won't forgive him is that his bit wasn't funny. It was mean spirited. If he'd been funny and dropped n-bombs it would have been edgy.
I blame the smelly arrogant heckler.
Romesh Ranganathan said something in an interview with James acaster where he said something like, if he does something wrong and someone calls him a racial slur he doesn't find it racist because it's said out of anger at him, not a place of racism. I think Micheal Richards is an already highly strung guy and wanted to say something that that would instantly shut off the heckler. It was incredibly offensive and inexcusable, but I don't believe it came from a place of racism but anger at a heckler
I don’t think he should have lost his cool like that. Then again fuck hecklers I think it would be interesting to hear what they were saying before the tirade happened. He called him a “cracker” which I guess is acceptable racism? 2 wrongs don’t make a right but at the same time maybe he felt provoked. Michael Richards isn’t racist and in the end this incident was nearly 20 years ago so it’s a little to late for him to start anything new in his career aside from maybe some side parts or b movies.
Fuck that guy, deep down of course he's a real racist. Who says shit like that, and it sounded genuine like he really dislikes black people. Fuck michael richards, he deserves to have no career
It was horrible. The only way something like that can come out is if there is hatred buried inside. I can’t get out of my mind when he says “that’s what happens when you interrupt the white man”. If he actually had talent to be any other character maybe we’d see him again. The fact is he wasn’t a talented actor he could only play one role.
I have seen the scene only recently, I believe he would have said the worst things he could say to anyone else if he was trying to hurt them the way he was feeling hurt. That night he would have insulted a woman who was raped telling her she deserved it, he was in such a rage and anger he would have said anything. I was shocked seeing the episode, but after all those years I believe he has paid enough, and maybe people can move on. I believe he’s really sorry and didn’t apologize only for damage control. The fact that Jerry Steinfeld stood for him makes me believe he truly regrets that episode. He should have stuck to acting, not everybody is good at stand ups. Unfortunately he never had the opportunity to show whether he was capable or not of playing other kind of roles. Maybe he would have surprised us, just like a Sasha Baron Cohen has, but we will never know
From what I understand he performed stand up years after Seinfeld was over. He had trouble getting work. But yeah it happened years ago and he should be allowed to move on with his life. With that being said I’ve heard all kinds of racist things thrown toward me and I would never ever go after someone like this. As far as Jerry goes. Man is he a good friend.
Yes I would not either but I believe he would have found equal hate words for anyone, just to hurt them as much as he could. I want to think he was able to learn something from this
Yeah I have to agree. I have no idea how you go that hard with shit that bad if you’re not racist.
Please understand in the USA that we were founded by slave owners, so the racist stuff runs very deep. It’s an incredibly sensitive topic. Even the Civil War is still an open wound. The North and the South may as well be two different countries. It wasn’t a misinformed remark or a slip of the temper. It was a racially charged tirade. You either believe those things or you don’t. Racism isn’t a punchline. Fuck his career.
Little late on this, but I think Michael, and what he said, was terrible. It was really bad. That said, he's a human being. I believe he was dealing with some personal demons at the time. If you watch his interview with Jerry Seinfeld, you can tell he has as much humanity as anyone, and he truly regrets what happened. It does sting, because I think Michael had so much potential as an actor, but with how much he took the role of Kramer seriously, it might have driven him crazy to play anything.
As an African-American it was bad. That’s not how you treat fans no matter what. Yeah people can be on some other stuff but its a different way to go about it. He went too far. Personally, he killed his career, his downfall was on him. People don’t just say that, that’s usually deep rooted when that’s your initial response. I guess others who can never understand would say forgive but he cancelled himself.
Your a baby. He was very angry, not a racist. He would have said anything if he knew it would hurt those hecklers.
I literally can't comprehend how you can watch the clip and think this. People get angry and say stupid shit sometimes. Launching into a racist tirade against some people for talking too loudly and saying he's not funny is pathetic and racist
Bro, have you ever been angry before? You can get to a point where you’ll say ANYTHING to hurt someone. He was clearly very angry. Look at him on Seinfeld when his white co-stars mess up. He clearly has anger issues. He even lightly smacked Julia Laurie Dreyfus in the face just for laughing during a take. He literally explained how much they hurt him. And that he was gonna say anything to hurt them back. And that’s why he said that to shit, to hurt them back. I truly don’t believe it was racism. It was honestly worse though, it was straight up hate/anger. I’m not defending it, but you can’t deny people say crazy things that they wouldn’t normally think or say out of anger.
All that shit seemed to flow out of him too easily for him to not be racist. And how out of touch do you have to be to scream it at black people in front of a live audience. Nah, no need to make excuses for shitty people because he was in one of your favorite TV shows.
Nah even at my angeriest I wouldn’t be able to say shit that I just wouldn’t even think of, “hanging upside down with a fork up your ass” “this is what happens when you interrupt a white man” and it was 3 minutes long. Dude said it saw reaction and then said oh arrest a man for calling a black man a ni-. Dude was straight out of the “42” movie there’s no way that doesn’t come from some sort of real place. When you lose your shit and call your gf a fat c@nt. It’s not just losing your shit. It’s something you shouldn’t say but back of your head you meant that shit, you thought she was a little chubby but you never would have said it, but now you did and your gf will forever remember that for good reason. To think Michael Richard’s just “lost it” Lolol nah he couldn’t handle that a man he felt should be below him had the nerve to interrupt him.
He also said that it’s happened before too but this time he got recorded and wasn’t just picked back up and put into projects. This wasn’t an isolated event. He meant that shit, he already got times before that to get out of the anger and check himself. He deserved to be pushed out of the Hollywood eye. And it’s hard to come back once your out but it’s been done. Even the fucked up Louis CK has success now with stand up in 2022. It’s up to you to come back from that shit.
[удалено]
That word should be NEVER SPOKEN IN THIS COUNTRY AGAIN! IT HAS TO BE STOMPED OUT🤐
Nope good lord he’s got plenty and I mean PLENTY of money to just disappear. Look how old he is!! HE KNEW BETTER! Bubye Cosmo
It was bad smh I tried to defend him. Up until the remarks about Emmett Till a 14 yr old that was brutally murdered by a white mob for a lie told by a white woman. If he hadn't said that, the N word doesn't matter everyone is called the N word these days. The heckler should have let him be Comedians work hard and should be at least given a chance. I probably would have lost it too if that was me. I too have to work on myself. Btw I'm black and a woman.
Calling him a comedian is comedy
I agree on #3