This whole Michael Richards incident feels vaguely like a bad Andy Kaufman prank.

[elperromagico]

One of the most infamous Andy Kaufman stunts was on the live ABC-TV program Fridays, where Kaufman broke character in the middle of a sketch, complaining that the sketch made him feel stupid. One of the other cast members walked off-camera, grabbed the cue cards and angrily threw them at Kaufman. Kaufman responded by throwing a glass of water at the actor and a "fight" ensued.

Who was that cue card throwing actor? A young Michael Richards.

I find it very interesting that Richards, in trouble for comments and actions that have offended and shocked large numbers of people, chose as his venue of apology David Letterman's talk show (Kaufman was a frequent guest and made a particularly notorious appearance with wrestler Jerry Lawler there).

I would never dismiss the possibility that Michael Richards is indeed a racist or, at least, a man with serious drug or alcohol problems. But I'm tempted to believe that, with his career on the rocks, Richards has ripped a page from Andy Kaufman's playbook as a means of getting publicity. This is just so bizarre.

[Roland99]

1. Oh, that definitely crossed my mind but Richards crossed a line...

he crossed it and kicked dirt and mud all over it and then took a crap on it.

[matcom]

2. he didn't chose Letterman's show

Seinfeld did to try and keep his show in sindication and keep selling the DVD's

[peekaloo]

3. I thought about that, too, yet Richards was in on that Kaufman joke.

Kaufman's subsequent apology came in the guise of a *ahem* born again Christian. :rofl:

If he's copping from AK, via Lenny Bruce, then he's a spectacular failure. But he may have just defined the term "career euthanasia".