'Kramer' actor apologizes for racist rant

[oberliner]

Michael Richards, the actor best known as Kramer from "Seinfeld," apologized on Monday for a racially charged tirade at a Los Angeles comedy club.

"For me to be at a comedy club and flip out and say this crap, I'm deeply, deeply sorry," he said during a taping of David Letterman's "Late Show."

"I'm not a racist. That's what's so insane about this."

The 57-year-old actor appeared via satellite during an interview with comedian Jerry Seinfeld.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20061120/michael_richards_tirade_061120/20061120?hub=CTVNewsAt11

[Mr_Spock]

1. Really?

I hadn't heard this :smoke:

[bliss_eternal]

2. Forgiven but not forgotten...

and dude, I don't believe you. People that aren't bigots don't just suddenly start yelling those kinds of things. Seek help, you need it.

[Maat]

3. I agree with you, Bliss_Eternal!

I have to admit I know NOTHING about the guy, except what I learned from this incident.

[bliss_eternal]

4. Hi Maat...!

:hi: I used to watch that guy when I was a kid on a show called Fridays. Short of that, and his Seinfeld work...:shrug:

[Maat]

33. Sorry I'm late saying, 'Hi!'

A few months' back, I became very busy with co-founding our local PDA (Progressive Democrats of America); that became my focus (website to come soon)! I hope that everything is going well with you!

:hi:

[bliss_eternal]

35. That sounds great...!

Please keep me posted on your organization, sounds like something we need here in Socal! Shoot me a pm about it if you'd like.:hi:
Hoping all is well with you as well!

[Maat]

51. Will do! (n/t)

[Skittles]

6. if you don't forget, you don't forgive

and you are correct: people do not suddenly find their inner hate - it's there and comes out at the worst time for the undercover racists

[bliss_eternal]

7. ...I'm capable of forgiving people,

but that doesn't mean that I'll ever forget the fact that they did what they did. If I forget, they could pull the wool over my eye's again.

:hi:Skittles!

[Skittles]

10. again

if you don't forget, you never TRULY forgive - you're just waiting for them to f*** up again - the element of trust is gone. When I forgive, I do forget - I let it go, period.

[bliss_eternal]

11. I'm not you,....

and you aren't me. Respectfully, maybe you shouldn't assume my motivations or beliefs are the same as yours...or anyone else's for that matter? ;)

Thanks.

[Skittles]

12. I'm not assuming anything

just pointing out what it takes to really forgive; there is a huge difference between remembering what someone did and refusing to let go of what someone did...do not think I am some kind of forgiving fool because I most certainly am not :)

[bliss_eternal]

16. ...according to you, for you.

but I decide for me. Free world, free will and all that, last I checked at least. But of course you are entitled to your opinion--and your personal belief system. Try to keep in mind your opinion is not fact, and your truth doesn't extend to mine.

Not sure why you're so insistent that there is. I believe I'm entitled to believe whatever I want about forgiveness as are you. Think I'm done here--have a good evening, what's left of it.

[Behind the Aegis]

46. all I can think of here is...

..."those who forget history, are doomed to repeat it."

[bliss_eternal]

53. Such an appropriate quote, my friend.

:hi::pals:

[fishwax]

42. I don't think that's true

I remember things that people have done to me in the past without harboring any resentment about it or expecting them to do it again.

[bloom]

24. I agree with you

To forgive is not to forget. And it can come with strings attached. Like get help - and don't ever do it again.

[bliss_eternal]

27. Thanks, bloom.

:hi:

[Vorta]

28. Is Jesse Jackson an anti-semite?

When I heard how Jackson referred to NYC, my surprise wasn't that he would say such a thing so much as the effort involved. I had never heard anyone refer to New York as "Hymietown". When I was a child, the west bank of my hometown was referred to as 'Coloredtown". There were probably some white people outside my earshot who referred to it as Nwordtown, but Coloredtown was the nice way of saying it. I have no idea what black people called it, but it is only in recent times that it has been dubbed West Podunk. The people who called it Coloredtown certainly did so with a racial consciousness, but for the most part it wasn't all that different than Chinatown in being a descriptive term of who lived there. Jackson is the only person I have ever heard refer to NYC as Hymietown. Perhaps I have lived a sheltered life.

IS Jackson forgiven?

[Lurking Dem]

31. Aside from the fact that "hymie"

is pretty equivalent to the "n" word, that was not Jackson's only foray into antisemitic statements.

He cozied up to the PLO and on a trip to Israel was quoted by Newsweek saying that Jews had "a persecution complex" and that they overreacted to their own suffering. He also said he was "sick and tired of hearing about the Holocaust."

[bliss_eternal]

38. I vaguely recall that incident...

I didn't personally read the comments by Jackson, but the quotes you provided are disgusting and beyond wrong. :mad::puke:
Thank you for sharing the information on this, LurkingDem. :hi:

[Lurking Dem]

58. After his appearance

on Saturday Night Live so many moons ago, where he read Green Eggs and Ham, I'll forgive him almost anything. Damn that was funny!

His comments were disgusting but I like to think he has risen above them and learned from his mistakes.



I don't think our stand up comic is there yet.

[Name removed]

40. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Behind the Aegis]

45. Not sure of your point, but....

I am familiar with Jackson's comments and attitudes about Jews. Personally, I have seen those change. I know there are many Jews who will never forgive him or forget and that is their prerogative. I, however, have. I do forgive his statements (which he did apologize for them a few years back), but I will not forget them. It is no different than African-Americans who forgive Byrd's involvement with the Klan. Many have forgiven him, but I doubt any will ever forget.

[Vorta]

47. Just trying to bring some perspective to what appears to be a self-righteousness contest. nt

[BlooInBloo]

5. That's nice.

[bliss_eternal]

8. Guess that made him feel better...

:eyes:

[Vorta]

29. At least he didn't say , "I apologize IF I offended anyone." eom

[bliss_eternal]

30. Will miracles never cease...?

;)

[uppityperson]

9. aw heck, send him to rehab, set up a meeting with Jessie Jackson to bond.

[Starlight]

13. I agree. He seemed genuinely heavy hearted and remorseful, but I suspect there are addiction or

mental illness issues involved. :hangover:

[bliss_eternal]

22. How did he make a living again...?

Oh yeah, that's right--as an actor... :mad::banghead::eyes:

[shanti]

14. "i'm not a racist"....

heh. yeah. right. dude, your career is gone. live with it.

[Warren DeMontague]

15. "that's what's so insane about this".

I love how, any time someone does something really shitty in public, they use language that makes it sound like something "just happened". How could this happen? It didn't, dude. It didn't fall in on a meteor. YOU did it. Own up.

[bliss_eternal]

19. Yeah, like they were possessed and had no control over

themselves.

He could spew split pea soup, and his head could spin around and I wouldn't believe him at this point. :(

[Ecumenist]

20. EXACTLY, what I thought Bliss...

I DO NOT BUY HIS CONTRITE APOLOGY! I think that he's worried about the tattered remains of what I laughingly refer to as his career. The funniest thing is that I HAVE NEVER THOUGHT HE WAS FUNNY and HAVE NEVER LIKED HIM. Never understood why but I suppose it's clear to me what I perceived his revolting personality. He's always seemed rather creepy...

[bliss_eternal]

25. Hey YOU!

The man is out of his mind, and a racist to boot. We shouldn't be suprised that the usual DU dog and pony parade trot out their racism apologist theories. Live in the skin of the discriminated, then tell me how I "shouldn't be offended and shouldn't think some jack ass that uses racial slurs is not a bigot." :eyes:

Oh, and I agree--creepy is a good word for him.

:hi:Ecumenist--Good to see you!

[Ecumenist]

60. Good to see you too, Girl!!

:hi: He's EXTREMELY lucky that nobody jumped up on that stage and beat him like he stole something. I'm not saying that it would be the right thing to do but he definitely had put himself in a precarious position. Frankly, looking at him, I have ALWAYS thought that he and many black folks have alot i common, genetically. That hair and looking at him face makes me believe that someone "strayed from his or her own backyard" in his tree.

If you have a family tree like I have, (and most AA's do), it's peppered with European, Native American and Asian ancestors. AND.... although many whites don't like to admit it, they have African American branches of the family. Many "Caucasians" are the descendants of black folks who "passed" and don't realise that the people they look their noses down at are indeed COUSINS, at the very least.

I don't buy his excuse or apology because it was as sincere as a rubber crutch and mud windows.

[devilgrrl]

17. I'm not a racist, I just like to call black people "N"s...

:eyes::wtf:

[bliss_eternal]

18. Exactly...!

:hi: devilgrrl!

[Behind the Aegis]

21. Did he consult Gibson's apology director?

What a load shit!

""I'm not a racist. That's what's so insane about this."

That sounds like Gibson's "retraction" about not being an anti-Semitic POS.

I think what has made me so ill is the number of people willing to say, "well, he wasn't used to that venue." or "it was because he was drunk." or "because..." whatever! I have been drunker than Dionysus, Himself, and I have never called a black person "nigger" while drunk!

[bliss_eternal]

26. You got it, Behind the Aegis...!

But you "get" what too many alleged "progressives" don't. A person only says what is in their heart, subconscious, whatever...only one that is a bigot would say what Richards and Gibson said.

I read the People that was printed about the Gibson incident. I don't know how his "handlers" did it. Frankly, I would have quit on that fucker--you couldn't pay me enough to enable him. Someone needs to talk with Seinfeld--he may be trying to preserve fans fond memories of his show, but right now he looks like a racist enabler. Not cool.

[Beelzebud]

23. Too late. His racism was exposed for everyone to see. Fuck him.

[yodermon]

32. Here's an Unpopular post .

Sometimes, people with really really bad anger management & rage issues will explode and say the most hurtful possible thing to the person(s) that is confronting them. Things that, in the core of their personality, they do not fundamentally agree with.

Has no one here ever flown off the handle and said something JUST TO BE MEAN, knowing full well that it is 100% percent bullshit? It's immature, hurtful, and usually points to some kind of mental unbalance if you're over the age of, say, 13; and if you're a public figure you have to pay the consequences for such an action. But I believe it is possible to say things in a rage that deep down, you don't really mean.

It's like a little kid who says "I hate you and wish you were dead." Most kids grow out of that; some do not.

Having said this, of course Michael Richards needs to take what's coming to him for this, probably meaning the end of whatever's left of his career. I think he needs to seek help with his deep-seated rage issues (wasn't there some kerfuffle back in the '70's with andy kauffman?) It's not like he'll ever be hurting for work with the seinfeld royalties he'll get forever & ever.

Sorry for the disjointed post, but it's just that I know firsthand that it IS possible to say things that you are diametrically opposed to in the heat of a rage-filled moment.

Or, he could just be a fucking sleeper-cell racist who just decided it was time to go live.

[Auggie]

34. Response from a comedian:

This comes from a friend of mine who tours the Southwestern U.S:

"The guy (Richards) has no act. He choked. I like to encourage hecklers. Sure, it comes with the territory. It's what I like to call 'combat comedy'. It should be in good fun. Beat the heckler down once, and move on with your act. The good hecklers are usually a table full of 3, 4 or more guys just having fun. If it gets out of hand there is a key phrase that gets the bouncer there to cool things off."

[bliss_eternal]

37. I believe your friend when he says the guy has no act.

...and it's true that dealing with hecklers is part of the gig. Some get REALLY good at it. I saw DL Hugley very early in his career, play in Long Beach, CA. He was amazing with hecklers--he was so good at diffusing hecklers it got to be part of his act. He regularly works the room, messsing with the audience.

[Behind the Aegis]

43. Good points.

DL has great material (Though, he is no Bernie Mac). I have seen his earlier shows. Others in the same vein are Chris Rock, Margaret Cho, and Paula Poundstone. interestingly enough, all of those people are minorities. With the exception of Paula, the others all deal with racism and other issues of bigotry in their acts. I have many of them on DVD (imagine that (private joke for BE)). They handle the material well and they handle hecklers well. Of course, now that I have praised those three, someone will post something to the contrary or one of them will fuck up real soon. :)

[bliss_eternal]

48. Hey you...

It broke my heart the way the way they went after Paula. I love Margaret Cho, Chris Rock and Bernie Mac--dh has a thing for the Bernie Mac show--I didn't know you were a fan. ;) Color me surprised that you have those dvd's. :rofl:

:pals::hug:

[semillama]

52. No one handled hecklers like Bill Hicks.

He has an entire CD that is a live show of his that started going south, so he worked that fact into his entire routine and he was brilliant. Still sorely missed.

[Last Stand]

39. He talked about an "uncontolled rage" during his apology.

I believe he's right about that. To lose control to that extent, to lose all judgement about what you are doing and what you are saying, to be that hurtful and to show no boundaries whatsoever is usually a pretty good barometer of someone with a serious anger problem. That doesn't preclude racism, however.

I'd have to acknowledge to some extent the explanation that he "found the most hurtful comment" for the object of his rage. I think I'd want to know more about how the guy lived his life before concluding. Many people, myself included, were brought up with some racist influences, some subtle and some not, that were part of our development. Simply seeing minorities as second class citizens is/was a common viewpoints for many white grandparents of Jane and Joe Average. After we learn to think on our own and reject racist notions, we spend the rest of their lives actively and passively rejecting these embedded ideas. Looks like the seeds of racism were within "Kramer" somewhere, and maybe this is where.

Maybe this guy's career has crashed and he's found someone to blame. I give him some credit for coming on a comedy show, darkening the mood and facing his actions on national tv. If he wants to find a way to control his rage, then maybe he needs to take a long hard look in the mirror rather than his audiences.

[Strawman]

41. I agree with that, but what's troubling is the reminder how accessible racist language is

It's there, usually under the surface but it's an accessible, understandable language even for those who claim that they are not "racists." There is a language of racism and a hateful worldview attached to it. He uses it as a violent act. Like you say, it is a weapon. He was getting his ass rhetorically kicked by hecklers so he reaches for the most hurtful thing he can say back at them out of total moral and emotional weakness.

Yet, if one uses racist language, they act as a racist and are properly identified as one. They perpetuate racism regardless of their intent. I think Michael Richards is now painfully aware of this. He knows an utterance like that hurts people. He knows that the fact that it was a public utterance means it will be used by twisted people who find humor in those kinds of awful things. He ought to know that for every person who is disgusted by what he said, there will be other hateful people who will see him as their voice up on that stage. They'll email it to one another and laugh at what he said. He has to own that for the rest of his life. Then again maybe owning that is not a bad thing for him. There's a sick part of his soul that he can no longer deny. Having views like that so top-of-mind and readily accessible degrades him also.

I got the sense that he was truly sorry watching him on Letterman, but I won't say that makes it all ok. That's not my place to forgive him. I'm a white guy. I don't know how a person who does that makes amends. I don't know how they can ever be credible after something like that. I will say that I found the promotion of the Seinfeld DVD that preceded his apology to be in very poor taste. It made the apology seem like a gesture partially motivated to protect the Seinfeld franchise even if Jerry was scheduled to promote the DVD before this. I was glad to see that Richards at least had enough integrity to not play the free speech/edgy comedy card because anyone who watches the video of his outburst can see that "edgy comedy" was not the language game he was playing. Someone like Lisa Lampanelli uses racist language in her act in a language game that is understood in advance by her audience as ridiculous (but even this kind of game is risky for the comic who can be misunderstood, as Dave Chappelle has pointed out). Borat plays a similar game where the viewer of the film/show is in on the act, but the foil is not. The common variable here is that it's part of an act. This thing with Richards was clearly not.

There may simply be nothing that this guy can do to rehabilitate his public image. He could offer to donate all of his Seinfeld money from now forward to African-American Katrina victims or other African-Americans in need, but they have a right not to be used in that fashion. I don't know. I find the incident to be another one of those moments where there is an opportunity for the public to reflect on the persistence of racism in this country. We just passed a ban on Affirmative Action here in MI. There is this widespread erroneous view that racism in America no longer exists or is a minor obstacle that is not exceptional and not worthy of being addressed by public policy. Maybe more whites need to have their own Michael Richards moment if that's what it takes in order to realize that they are in denial.

[bliss_eternal]

44. Wow, Strawman...

well said. I would say the most he could do at this point is to seek help, for his latent racist hositilities and bigotry.

I have to wonder if he is sincerely sorry for what he said--or merely sorry that he got caught and now has the inevitable repurcussions to his public persona and career. There's a difference.

He may just be sorry that he now has to deal with the "racist" label.

[Strawman]

50. Yeah you have to wonder if he's more sorry about getting caught

He went right back on stage. I have no way of knowing, but I suspect that perhaps the publicity made him face what he is, which in turn has made him self-aware and remorseful. Most people wouldn't want to own that crap as part of their self-concept. But he can't deny it now like he did when he "tried to get back on the horse" the following night.

[Virginia Dare]

49. The only problem here is...

presumably there were other black people in the audience who had done nothing wrong, so in his quest to "just be mean" or say the "most hurtful possible thing", he was also potentially offending those people.

Hell, I'm white and I would have been deeply offended, especially by the comment about the fork which was really deeply offensive, and in my opinion, would be something that would be said only by someone who had at least some very deep seeded racist feelings.

[Major Hogwash]

36. He sounds sincere to me.

And I was glad he didn't have an excuse ready, like "I was really drunk when I said that".

No doubt he has an issue dealing with black people, but the stage is not the best place for psychoanalysis.

[Dr Fate]

54. Perhaps the saddest thing is he disappointed millions of his fans.n/t

n/t

[bigtree]

55. OP? OP?

wherefore art thou, OP?

[oberliner]

62. Did you know that 'wherefore' actually means 'why'?

I always thought it meant 'where' myself.

[raysr]

56. You're no Gibson

Kramer. Your stand up and acting gigs are OVER! If you did it for exposure, you're EXPOSED for sure.

[butterfly77]

57. Lets face it ...

whites are superior to every race:sarcasm:

[ecstatic]

59. I couldn't tell where the acting ended and the sincerity began

Let's face it, apologizing was a MUST in order to get some people back on board with the DVD that is now being released.

My conclusion is this: I no longer am a fan of the show nor of anyone on it. I can never watch any of them in the same light ever again. I saw a Sinbad interview and couldn't say it any better: It's like a man who was just caught cheating saying he didn't do it or didn't mean to. Well I'm sorry, that type of betrayal doesn't fly with me. I believe Jerry should have thrown Richards under the bus, to maintain some iota of credibility. Instead, he chose to sit there and try to defend the undefendable. F*ck Michael, Jerry, and anyone else who excuses that sickening behavior.

[Name removed]

61. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[bliss_eternal]

63. Hi Truth Hurts...

it's a shame that Seinfeld seemed to feel the need to "help" Richards. In the process, he's shown himself to be nothing more than an enabler after the fact. Not cool.

I'm very sorry that you were hurt by this, as a former fan of the show. That sucks. No fan deserves to have something they once enjoyed destroyed by such a harsh light. :hug:

[MazeRat7]

64. So ? some things are so egregious that an apology is pointless.....(n/t)