November 20, 2006 @ 6:00 pm

Comedian Michael "Kramer" Richards Goes Into Racial Tirade, Banned From Laugh Factory

Mariel Concepcion

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"My understanding is that there was a group of people that were excited Michael Richards had come on stage, and were talking about how great he was as Kramer," explained Laugh Factory's Director of Public Relations and Marketing, Jackie Plaza, during an exclusive Vibe.com interview. "Mr. Richards misinterpreted what they said as heckling, and went off on a racial tirade." left "Fifty years ago we'd have you upside down with a f***ing fork up your ass," Richards yelled as the cameras started rolling. "You can talk, you can talk, you're brave now motherf**ker! Throw his ass out. He's a n*gger! He's a n*gger! He's a n*gger! A n*gger, look, there's a n*gger!" One of the men who was the object of Richard's racial insults was outraged, shouting back "That's un-f***ing called for, ain't necessary." After the three-minute long tirade, the video shows the majority of the audience members walking out. The next day, Richards asked if he could return to the comedy club to publicly apologize to the audience, and even requested some of the prior day's patrons be invited, but instead he did his normal routine and did not apologize. Comedian and radio personality Donnell Rawlings told Vibe.com: "I’m not overly offended because as crazy as it may sound, a lot of stigma on that word comes from hip hop and other things, but I haven’t heard anybody use it in that context in a long time. When he said it it sounded like it came from a real hateful place. "If it was a black comedian on a black audience member, it would have been regular beef, but it made it more intense 'cause it was a white guy. Not that that word is acceptable," Rawlings added. "If it was a black comic calling a white man a 'cracker' or a 'honky', it would not have been that crazy. 'Cracker' and 'honky' aren’t as cutting as 'N*gger'." "I don’t think it was a joke," agreed Plaza, "The Laugh Factory’s official statement on it is that we don’t support what Mr. Richards did up there. He’s no longer welcomed at the club."

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