CAUTION CONTAINS RUDE AND OFFENSIVE LANGUAGE
This is one of the most pathetic meltdowns imaginable. Michael Richards played Kramer on Seinfeld for 9 years then failed to do much after that. His character was actually developed on the old Fridays show which bred numerous actors and comics. He was never famous for his stand-up and apparently never developed this skill. For one thing most stand-ups share numerous put-down lines to deal with hecklers, they do not go berserk like this. One has to assume that he thought he was being funny. Everyone must soon realize that everything is being captured on one device or another. This is a career ender.
found by David Feldman
On one hand I see this and think to myself that Mencia basically says the same thing and gets praised for it.
But then again Michael here is clearly using it in hate, not so much a joke.
The heckler used cracker which should be deemed just as rascist but Michael is clearly in the wrong.
He is washed up now.
I wouldn’t say it was a melt-down exactly. It seems to be more of an improve gone horribly wrong. Horribly horribly wrong. You can see he tries to reign in it a bit with “there’s still those words” as if he’s going to make some social comment on using the “N” word…yet can’t get it back.
Also John, it can’t really be a career ender if there’s no career going anyway.
um, damn. That was clearly not staged. but, he tried to play it off like it was. After his initial tirade you can tell he thinks to himself, wtf did i just say? and tries, like #2 said to make some sort of commentary off the cuff. but, he was way too frazzled at that point to try and improvise and play it off.
maybe he was drunk.
I thought it was funny… but then again I’m a little racist 😉
He may be washed-up… but atleast hes not a N*censored*
although somehow I’m reminded of william shatner…
“You callin’ me, has been?
What’d you say your name is?
Jack
Never done jack
Glad to meet ya “
You know, the more I look at this, this “may” have been staged. Remember back on the Fridays TV show when Andy Kaufman had his “melt down”…it was only Kaufman and Richards that were in on the gag, all the other cast members didn’t know about it and it was all very controversial at the time.
If this is real, then it goes against everything that Richards was. He’s a very quiet and shy guy, quite the opposite as you see here. I’m certainly not defending the guy, I’m just saying I wouldn’t put it past him to stage something like this.
Find out where Bob Zmuda was at the time and you may have your answer.
He had a terribly uncomfortable apology on Letterman tonight with pal Jerry Seinfeld acting as facilitator. I think he was sincere but it is obvious he has issues.
I hope this is an isolated event for him and it sounds like we should give him another chance. But as was already mentioned, he’s not really contributing in any meaningful way to the entertainment industry right now.
If he had a history of Kaufman-esque stunts then it would make sense. He doesn’t.
I’ve read that the man had a “master thespian” type personality – eventually believed he could get a laugh reading a cereal box. Seems pretty common with anyone who gets a modicum of success unfortunately, and this was Seinfeld.
Yeah, I take back that this may have been set-up after watching the Letterman apology.
Considering the incredibly vulgar, profane society we live in, it amuses me to see people getting so bent out of shape over this. Black entertainers and even community leaders have made these words ubiquitous in this country. Clean your own house first.
I could not believe it when I saw it. Definitely career ending but must be tops on youtube. I bet most in here have come close to going near postal like he did but only in the privacy of your home.
Anyway, I feel sorry for him, in a way. I bet the schmucks in the audience that provoked him are a bunch of losers but unfortuneately they got the last laugh.
I take back what I said about washed up. I honestly hope him has success after watching the apology
I think Richards should team up with Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy and do the Grand Dragons of Comedy tour!
Now the revisionist come out in force with the “Seinfeld & co were never anything but boring”.
It’s an interesting phenomenon. Why do people come out against something that many people seem to like? For instance, when the LOTR movies were coming out and getting praise, there were those that did the opposite and said “they suck”. Not really giving any reason other than “hey everyone, look at me! I’m saying they suck! Aren’t I cool”. It seems to happen everywhere. But the thing is, why? Why do people go out of their way to put down something or be negative on something that many others like? Is it a power play? I don’t like a lot of things too, I just don’t go out of my way to express them.
But to end this, I have a little joke that BryanP may find hilarious: “If you think Jeff Foxworthy is funny…you may be a redneck!”
From interview with Paul Rodriguez:
“Once that N word comes out and you aren’t black, you got some explainin’ to do”. Lighten up America. You heckle a man on a stage above you, and you are already below him, no matter what he calls you.
Ok, I’ll bite: Seinfeld sucked because:
1) It wasn’t funny. Rather, it wasn’t consistently funny and most of its jokes fell flat.
2) Too much canned laughter. Sure it may have been studio laughs, but it was too damn loud in the final mix.
3) Annoying characters. All of them were narcissistic unappealing asses, why would I care to watch them?
4) Far too formulaic. If you’ve seen one or two shows you can guess what is going to happen in all of them. They telegraph the situational comedy, which wouldn’t be so bad if the dialog was funny. But see #1 for that.
As for why no-one says why it sucked – neither do people give reasons when they like stuff. They just say “LOTR Ruled! It was awesome!” “Er.. ok, why?” “Freaking elves man! Awesome!” That’s really about all you can get. (II liked LotR, I’m just commenting on the general situation).
“All of them were narcissistic unappealing asses, why would I care to watch them?”
That’s what I did like about the show. I thought it was great that they ignored the entire history of television and did a show about people with no redeeming qualities. They were utterly self-centered, they treated their friends like shit, and their families even worse. They had no work ethic. And they treated the opposite sex like objects. Jerry, who is not good looking by any standard, would dump a woman because she had big hands. George, who was even less attractive, would dump a woman because she left dumb messages on his answering machine. Elaine would sleep with anything that crossed her path. They made Archie Bunker look like a compassionate and caring person!
Compare that to shows like Friends where everyone is likable, pretty, kind, etc. Yech!
Finally saw the video. And I had steeled myself for a barrage far worse than that. And I know I’ve heard, and most of us have heard, way more hurtful things by comics of all fame levels – including the biggest names – than that. The difference being the personal nature of the attack, I suppose.
Nevertheless, the heckler is absolutely right, it was uncalled for. The N-word is still too loaded to be used, if it ever can be. I wonder if a black comedian could have gotten away with that?
My understanding is that the word “Canuck” was once such an offensive word for “Canadian”. Thank goodness they managed to neutralize it by doing such things as naming their West Coast hockey team, the Vancouver Canucks and naming a super hero “Captain Canuck.”
Reminds me how late night TV hosts all began using the word “ass.” And now they are all incapable of using any other synonym such as bum, butt, tush, bottom, etc. They’ve neutralized that word and made it acceptable for everyone.
I suspect many people would somehow like to neutralize the N-word, too. It and a few other choice words seem to be a real thorn in the side of free-speechifiers. But not in our lifetime. And likely never, given its history.
It was wrong but I still can’t help but wonder, charitably, whether Michael Richards truly believed any of the stuff behind the word and his rant. Or whether, in the permissive environment of a comedy club; and with a comic’s de facto licence to shock; desperate to entertain; with their apparent aloofness from mere mortal concerns; and with its impromptu nature – whether there was anything behind this comic’s words.
RBG
#14 – funny is going to be based on the opinion of the beholder – foxworthy and redneck “humor” is lame in my opinion.
Ok – so its ok for a hispanic to make fun of other hispanics, ok for blacks to make fun of other blacks, but its not ok for a white guy to make fun of a black guy? wtf double standard
#22
OR you could do it Fox’s MadTV way: make a racist black/asian/hispanic skit using black/asian/hispanic performers.
The only credit they have though is criticizing A&F.
i guess if he was a black guy on def comedy jam it would have been fine. but since he is white it i s wrong. but the guy saying cracker and screwing up the show that is all fine…. i know if i pay to see a show i want to hear the person i payed for not some damn loud mouth be it black or white…. this just shows you that one bad person can just ruin the whole night…
Who cares? By the way, did you know there is a war going on in Iraq? How about focusing on that instead of media filler like this? I heard a black man call someone a “cracker” today. Where are the news vans? Get a grip.
#25 “Who cares?”
Apparently you do. You cared enough to comment here AND you made a comment in the post regarding Richard’s apology. And you even took the time to create two user names to do it. Wow, I wish I had your time to waste!
You know. I really couldn’t care less if someone called me a “cracker.” Are whites supposed to be offended by this? Think I’ll nickname my child Cracker.
RBG
#27 “Are whites supposed to be offended by this?”
The vast majority of whites outside the South don’t even know it’s an insult.
In fact it was slipped in the kids’ movie Open Season this past summer. Martin Lawrence (for those who don’t know, is black) voiced a trained bear who loved fish crackers and did skits for white audiences.
In the movie he said he “loved performing for all those crackers.”
I was the only person in a theater filled with white people who laughed! I can only imagine the uproar the joke would have received in a primarily black or southern theater.
Oh my! That was sad to watch. But I can tell you… I knew it was coming. I met this guy out one night… had dinner with him and a few friends. All I can say is arrogance always smells bad but the higher self finds its way to redemption: humiliation.
After several minutes of that same anger directed at me with insults and venom because I thought LUCK played a large role in success in the entertainment business… Richard’s says, “You have no idea what you’re fucking talking about… your not even in the business. Genius always rises to the top”.
Reread first parapgraph: Need I say more?
I think Michael Richards was drunk or high on drugs. I do not think he is a racist. He sounded like many alcoholics I’ve heard in the past. They rant and rave and sound like they hate the world, but when they are sober they are very nice people. Alcohol and drugs brings out the worst in some people. If he wasn’t drunk or high, then he definitely has some anger issues. He is just a man and he needs help. Give him a break and try a little forgiveness.
I used to say if you want to know what America is really thinking read what’s on the public rest room walls today its the Internet and guess what America the world read these post.
united we stand, God Bless America, the World is our Oyster
I love the Seinfeld show and I like what Michael has done over the years but I have lost respect for him. Regardless of how, or what he thinks privately, he should have been much more professional. Michael is an inspirational and iconic figure in popular culture and for a person of his influence to say such hateful things is despicable. Further, why do people hate blacks so much they are already among the most poor in society. They are often among the least educated. They are often ignored by the government because they are not economically viable. Let them live their already miserable lives free from the added embarrassment of senseless ridicule.
God bless you for your honest hearted comment please let us continue to keep them that way along with the American public and the rest of the World, I’m afraid there’s a problem
Mr. Richard’s is forgiving and the World feel about us, the way we feel about each other. (the world is on to us) everyone want Nuke’s
for that reason the World have a saying about us “we will destroy them from within not from without” it’s a 60’s thing am sure we understand, every American should travel to the middle east more and spread the love, don’t believe what they say. We are Welcome!