Now for another installment of "What say you?"
Please feel free to read the following news story and post a comment.
Michael Richards 'Deeply Sorry' For Racial Tirade
'Seinfeld' Actor Appears Angry, Flustered On Letterman
LOS ANGELES -- "Seinfeld" star Michael Richards took to airwaves Monday night to apologize and say he flipped out when he spewed racial epithets during a stand-up comedy routine Friday in Los Angeles. During an appearance on the "Late Show" with David Letterman, Richards, who played Kramer, said he lost his cool while being heckled and not because he's a bigot. Richards hurled racial epithets at two black hecklers.
Richards, on a video hookup from California, told Letterman, "For me to be at a comedy club and flip out and say this crap, I'm deeply, deeply sorry," adding, "I'm not a racist. That's what's so insane about this."
Then, his tone became angry and frustrated as he defended himself. Richards grew flustered and expressed second thoughts about appearing on the "Late Show" when some audience members chuckled because he used the term "Afro-American."
That's when he told Letterman, "I'm hearing your audience laugh, and I'm not even sure that this is where I should be addressing the situation."
His comments came during a scheduled appearance on the show by Jerry Seinfeld, who has called the incident a "horrible, horrible mistake."
Seinfeld said during the show that Richards deserved the chance to apologize.
Richards, 57, played Seinfeld's eccentric neighbor, Kramer, on the hit sitcom "Seinfeld" from 1989-1998.
In a video of the incident featured on the Web site TMZ.com (note: Video contains profanity), Richards purportedly screamed, "Fifty years ago we'd have you upside down with a f---ing fork up your a--."
On the videotape, some audience members are gasping in disbelief.
Directing his anger at one of the men, Richards said, "Throw his a-- out," and said, "He's a n-----!" five times.
In response to the tirade, one of men shouted at Richards on the TMZ video, "That''s un-f---ing called for, you cracker-a-- motherf-----" and called the comedian a "f---ing white boy."
Also during the three-minute tirade, Richards said, "They're going to arrest me for calling a black man a n-----."
The video shows some people walking out, with others gasping -- but there's also some audible chuckling throughout the outburst.
Comedians ReactComedians are reacting to Richards' racist outburst.
Comic Paul Rodriguez said there are limitations to free speech, and he thinks Richards "found those limitations."
Rodriguez said once someone who isn't black uses the n-word, "then you have a whole lot of explaining."
Comedian George Lopez told a Los Angeles television station that Richards is "an actor trying to be a comedian" and said "he shouldn't ever be on a stand-up gig." He said Richards didn't know how to respond to an unruly audience.
Meanwhile, the owner of The Laugh Factory in West Hollywood, the club where the incident took place, says Richards isn't welcome there until he makes an apology "to everyone."
However, Richards did perform at the club the following night, without incident.
'Seinfeld' Actor Appears Angry, Flustered On Letterman
LOS ANGELES -- "Seinfeld" star Michael Richards took to airwaves Monday night to apologize and say he flipped out when he spewed racial epithets during a stand-up comedy routine Friday in Los Angeles. During an appearance on the "Late Show" with David Letterman, Richards, who played Kramer, said he lost his cool while being heckled and not because he's a bigot. Richards hurled racial epithets at two black hecklers.
Richards, on a video hookup from California, told Letterman, "For me to be at a comedy club and flip out and say this crap, I'm deeply, deeply sorry," adding, "I'm not a racist. That's what's so insane about this."
Then, his tone became angry and frustrated as he defended himself. Richards grew flustered and expressed second thoughts about appearing on the "Late Show" when some audience members chuckled because he used the term "Afro-American."
That's when he told Letterman, "I'm hearing your audience laugh, and I'm not even sure that this is where I should be addressing the situation."
His comments came during a scheduled appearance on the show by Jerry Seinfeld, who has called the incident a "horrible, horrible mistake."
Seinfeld said during the show that Richards deserved the chance to apologize.
Richards, 57, played Seinfeld's eccentric neighbor, Kramer, on the hit sitcom "Seinfeld" from 1989-1998.
In a video of the incident featured on the Web site TMZ.com (note: Video contains profanity), Richards purportedly screamed, "Fifty years ago we'd have you upside down with a f---ing fork up your a--."
On the videotape, some audience members are gasping in disbelief.
Directing his anger at one of the men, Richards said, "Throw his a-- out," and said, "He's a n-----!" five times.
In response to the tirade, one of men shouted at Richards on the TMZ video, "That''s un-f---ing called for, you cracker-a-- motherf-----" and called the comedian a "f---ing white boy."
Also during the three-minute tirade, Richards said, "They're going to arrest me for calling a black man a n-----."
The video shows some people walking out, with others gasping -- but there's also some audible chuckling throughout the outburst.
Comedians ReactComedians are reacting to Richards' racist outburst.
Comic Paul Rodriguez said there are limitations to free speech, and he thinks Richards "found those limitations."
Rodriguez said once someone who isn't black uses the n-word, "then you have a whole lot of explaining."
Comedian George Lopez told a Los Angeles television station that Richards is "an actor trying to be a comedian" and said "he shouldn't ever be on a stand-up gig." He said Richards didn't know how to respond to an unruly audience.
Meanwhile, the owner of The Laugh Factory in West Hollywood, the club where the incident took place, says Richards isn't welcome there until he makes an apology "to everyone."
However, Richards did perform at the club the following night, without incident.
by File Boy
posted by File Boy & D.Tkon at 10:20 AM
10 Comments:
I like this:
"In response to the tirade, one of men shouted at Richards on the TMZ video, "That''s un-f---ing called for, you cracker-a-- motherf-----" and called the comedian a "f---ing white boy."
Now, I'm just going to wait a little while for this black man's racist comments to get picked up by the Associated Press, and hopefully we'll be hearing an apology from him as well. I'm sure he'll apologize and not sue the comedy club or anything.
I think its funny when anyone has to profess that they’re not a racist. On the one hand, how do you find yourself on National television apologizing for using the n-word if you didn’t use it in the first place? But here’s the interesting question . . .I hear many fine upstanding young black gentlemen call each other the n-word all of the time (and worse). Does that make them racists too? And doesn’t their use of the word just perpetuate the continued use of the word? And what about the black audience member who called Mr. Richards a “Cracker”? Isn’t he a racist too? And now for the billion-dollar question – who in their heart of hearts can honestly say that they see all people the same and don’t take nationality/race/religion/sex into consideration in their interactions with their fellow man? Does such a person exist? I’m not talking about people who are PC and hold their tongues. I’m talking about people who don’t experience other people as different.
His tirade was unnecessary and rude and insulting. He was obviously on something, the way he paced and shouted. But the video doesn't show how it started, either. I would like to provide people reasons to hate me:
#1, If a black comedian hurled insults at a white crowd, the crowd would laugh uncomfortably and forget about it because they CAN'T say ANYTHING.
#2, I have been to comedy clubs many times. Last year a comedian absolutely trashed white people using every name in the book IN HIS ACT (not spontaneously as a result of heckling, but as something he planned to do) and it wasn't funny it was done more like angry comedy. Granted the majority of the audience was black, but not a single person complained.
#3, I'm surprised that Lopez said anything at all on the subject. Why is it okay for him to say the things he does? Because he's funny. He makes it work for him. Richards couldn't make it work, but it's essentially what some other comedians do.
#4, Why do we celebrate Black History month, but not Irish History month or English History Month or German History Month or Italian History Month or what about American History Month where we celebrate our melting-pot heritage? Does anyone know that we have a nationally sanctioned Asian History Month currently in effect and a Native American month on its way? Do you think they will make television shows, movies of the week, create commercials, use as the topic of talk shows, and add to school curriculum to accomodate these months? I don't see it happening.
What Richards said was hateful and uncalled for and I would have wanted my money back because I paid for him to make me laugh. At the same time, I hate hecklers. I paid to see a show and if you're not happy, get out. Don't ruin my good time. Their comments are never as funny as they think they are. I don't see them up on stage.
Why is it okay for an audience member to call out things? We live in a society where there is absolutely no respect or dignity. The heckler should never have spoken. Michaels should have simply left the stage or called the heckler to come onstage and give him the microphone. The audience member should have simply left when Michaels went on his tirade. The video should never have been released to the public. We should have more class than to actually watch it. I shouldn't waste time commenting on it. In fact, no one should have been there because they all should have been out doing charity work!
Well its just another example of how its ok to make racist jokes so long as you're a minority. When there are more blacks than whites in America (sooner or later that will happen) and the whites are the minority its going to be sweet because then I'll make millions insulting black people to their faces. They'll laugh uncomfortably, but won't dare say anything.
It's not about being "allowed" to insult another person. It's about getting over yourself and not taking everything so personally.
Besides, if all you can insult another person with is their skin color, you need to enhance your vocabulary.
I agree. Get over it already. The n-word, the honky word, cracker, whatever. Doesn't bother me in the least. I just hate the double standard. Michael Richards made some racist comments, which were answered by an anonymous black man's racist comments. Michael Richards has to apologize and his career is in jeopardy. No one says a word about the black man. Apparently its ok to be racist, if someone else starts it. With this rationale, all you have to do is wait til you hear the word honky, cracker or "f'ing white boy", and then you can throw the n-word around all you want. Good to know.
File boy - be careful. You might have to change your blog moniker since some might find the term "boy" derogatory, racist and inflammatory. It may be more PC to call yourself “File Afro-American” or “File American-of-color”.
How about just "Filer" as in rank and filer?
Or rank filer. Or just rank feller. Or crank ranker?
File spanker. Spank tanker. File tiler. Fuck chucker. Sprinkle tinkler. Pig diggler. Mule spiggot.
Ooh, how about Fig-biggling chig swiggler? Then you could call me a figger or a swigger. Just don't say that to a bigger swigger.
Mule Spiggot gets all of my votes and any that I can buy, legally or otherwise.
That name is already taken.
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