Michael "Kramer" Richards Just for Laughs

After examining the bigotry, bias, prejudice and the racism that resulted from Michael Richards tirade at the Laugh Factory, I thought maybe it might be fun to explore the comedic aspect of all of this, after all Richards is/was a comedian! Here are some clips that made me laugh:

If Cryme Tyme were in the audience, things might have gone differently! :)


[youtube="http://youtube.com/watch?v=_HFqhZOSCDk"]

Some Seinfeld mash ups:

[youtube="http://youtube.com/watch?v=YHqUGCbdn08"]

[youtube="http://youtube.com/watch?v=fjnm8fzRExc"]

A Clarification??

[youtube="http://youtube.com/watch?v=fjY0THJNCII"]

Sometimes you just have to smile a little!!

[youtube="http://youtube.com/watch?v=8TzupOUAWlk"]

Even Howard Stern got in the act:

[youtube="http://youtube.com/watch?v=86y8jzGhgkA"]

OK! time to get serious again. Has this "Kramer" incident run its course?? Are there other things going on in the world??
[youtube="http://youtube.com/watch?v=pftScvdcfiA"]

Michael "Kramer" Richards on the Radio

As promised Michael Richards showed up to do a radio talk show with the Rev. Jesse Jackson. This was aired on Jackson's Keep Hope Alive program. The audio from this broadcast can be heard here.

Jesse Jackson asked him if he had had previous outbursts like this in the past, to which Richards replied that this was the first time he had used the word nigger to anyone. When Jackson asked him about the imagery of lynchings and if he really had such thoughts, Richards denied being a racist and did not know where all this was coming from.

"That's why I'm shattered by it. The way this came through me was like a freight train. After it was over, when I went to look for them, they had gone. And I've tried to meet them, to talk to them, to get some healing," he said.

Jackson continued by asking Richards about the lack of a Black presence on Prime Time TV and whether this was a symptom of the underlying racism in America. He also commented on the widespread use of the word nigger in the entertainment industry. Richards agreed that the word is in common use and this could have negative consequences:

"I fear that young whites will think it's cool to go around and use that word because they see very cool people in the show business using that word so freely," he said. "Perhaps that's what came through in that ... the vernacular is so accessible."

Richards told Jackson that his tirade was one of anger not bigotry. He wanted to hurt the ones who had hurt him. "I was in a place of humiliation" he said.

This is the sixth article about Michael Richards. See the five previous articles in chronological order.... Kramer 1 Kramer 2 Kramer 3 Kramer 4 Kramer 5

Michael "Kramer" Richards and Jesse Jackson

The Rev. Jesse Jackson announced that Michael "Kramer" Richards will appear on his nationally syndicated radio talk show to discuss his racist rant.

"I asked him, 'Why do you hate blacks? Have you been robbed or accosted or molested in some way?'" Jackson said. "He said, 'No, I can't quite explain it.' I said, 'That's why you need to talk it out.'"

While he called Richards' words "hateful," "sick," and "deep-seated," Jackson said his inclusion in the radio show airing Sunday would be a chance for a broader discussion about black actors, writers and directors' "cultural isolation" in the entertainment industry.

"We might turn this minus into a plus," Jackson said.

Jesse Jackson's radio show is called Keep Hope Alive and can be heard on a number of affiliated stations nationwide.

Richard's publicist Howard Rubenstein also announced that the actor/comedian has already begun psychiatric counseling in Los Angeles to learn how to manage his anger and why he made the racist remarks.

"He acknowledged that his statements were harmful and opened a terrible racial wound in our nation," Rubenstein said. "He pledges never ever to say anything like that again. He's quite remorseful."

Stay tuned for more!!

This is the fifth article about Michael Richards. See the four previous articles in chronological order.... Kramer 1 Kramer 2 Kramer 3 Kramer 4

Legal Woes for Kramer??

The Michael "Kramer" Richards saga continues. The two so-called hecklers who started him off on his racist tirade have shown up, with their lawyer! Frank McBride and Kyle Doss have hired a lawyer Gloria Allred. They are demanding that Richards meet with them face to face in front of a retired judge........to "acknowledge his behavior and to apologize to them" and allow the judge to decide on monetary compensation.

Richards' publicist said the comic wasn't considering any demand for payment. "He's not dealing with that," Howard Rubenstein said. "He wants to apologize to them directly and then see what happens."

McBride and Doss went on the "Today" show with their lawyer to explain what happened. See video clip below:

[youtube="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATWTKhmNWBU"]

This looks like Michael Richards is going to be sued. The story is not over.

This is the fourth article about Michael Richards. See the three previous articles in chronological order.... Kramer 1 Kramer 2 Kramer 3

Michael "Kramer" Richards Hires Publicist

After an unconvincing apology on the Tonight Show Michael Richards hired himself a New York publicist Howard Rubenstein. Rubenstein's firm specializes in crisis management and is apparently a well respected firm with many influential clients. Calls were set up with the Rev. Jesse Jackson and the Rev. Al Sharpton (who was unavailable for comment).

Jesse Jackson had the following comments after talking with Richards.

"He's embarrassed. He got caught on tape. That's a big part of his anxiety now," said Jackson.

"Clearly he needs some race sensibility training, and some psychiatric help. His anger is volatile and dangerous to himself and others," Jackson said. "I hope he gets the help he needs. But the culture that's producing this kind of animosity toward blacks must be addressed. ... We're increasingly facing cultural isolation in Hollywood, in the movies and in TV."

Howard Rubenstein summed up the discussion as follows:

"Michael apologized profusely," Rubenstein said. "He wants to heal the tremendous wound that he's inflicted on the American public, and on the African-American community. ... I think it was a positive discussion."

I think Jesse Jackson got it right when he said: "He's embarrassed. He got caught on tape. That's a big part of his anxiety now"

If it wasn't for that "tape" I don't think Michael Richards would be in so much trouble. It is the irrefutable evidence of not just WHAT he said but HOW he said it; with such conviction that he felt it necessary to repeat the word "nigger" multiple times, just to be certain that he was not misunderstood. He even asked the crowd (in some vain attempt at gaining their sympathy): "They're going to arrest me for calling a black man a nigger?"

This was more than just throwing the word nigger around. He obviously had harbored some very negative and racist ideas about Black people. At the very beginning of his bigoted, racially-motivated diatribe he said: "Shut up! Fifty years ago we'd have you upside down with a fucking fork up your ass". That sort of talk is not a spur of the moment thought. That kind of imagery indicates some deeply rooted ideas about how Black people should be treated. Richards ended by saying: "That's what happens when you interrupt the white man don't you know?....... You see? You see, there's still those words, those words, those words"

Michael Richards has a lot of apologizing to do. This incident is not going to go away with the passage of time, and unless he wants to be forever remembered for uttering Those Words, he has to demonstrate to the world that he is in fact not a Racist.

This is the third article about Michael Richards. See the two previous articles in chronological order.... Kramer 1 Kramer 2