Michael Richards “Kramer” Go On Racial Tirade

Agree2Disagree Forum

Richards shouts racial slurs at hecklers

AP Television Writer

LOS ANGELES - A barrage of racial epithets unleashed by former "Seinfeld" star Michael Richards during a stand-up comedy routine drew condemnation from Richards' industry colleagues.

Comedian Paul Rodriguez, who was at the Laugh Factory in West Hollywood on Friday when Richards responded to two black hecklers with the "n" word and profanities, said he was shocked by Richards' remarks.

"Once the word comes out of your mouth and you don't happen to be African-American, then you have a whole lot of explaining," Rodriguez told CNN. "Freedom of speech has its limitations and I think Michael Richards found those limitations."

Jerry Seinfeld issued a statement saying he was "sick over this."

"I'm sure Michael is also sick over this horrible, horrible mistake. It is so extremely offensive. I feel terrible for all the people who have been hurt," Seinfeld said of Richards, 57, who played eccentric Kramer on the hit 1989-98 sitcom and whose major credit since was the failed 2000 comedy series, "The Michael Richards Show."

Calls to Richards' representatives were not returned Monday.

His Laugh Factory tirade began after the two clubgoers shouted at him that he wasn't funny. A videotape of the incident was posted on TMZ.com.

Richards retorted: "Shut up! Fifty years ago we'd have you upside down with a f------ fork up your a--."

He then paced across the stage taunting the men for interrupting his show, peppering his speech with racial slurs and profanities.

"You can talk, you can talk, you're brave now mother------. Throw his a-- out. He's a n-----!" Richards shouts before repeating the racial epithet over and over again.

Moderating his tone at one point, Richards tells the audience: "It shocks you. It shocks you" and refers to "what lays buried."

While there is some chuckling in the audience throughout the outburst, someone can be heard gasping "Oh my God" and people respond with "ooh" after Richards uses the n-word.

Eventually someone calls out: "It's not funny. That's why you're a reject, never had no shows, never had no movies. `Seinfeld,' that's it."

On Monday, about a half-dozen community activists gathered at the club to denounce Richards' remarks and demand an apology.

"These kind of comments hurt all of us," said protester Lita Sister Herron of the Youth Advocacy Coalition. She called Richards' comments hate speech.

The protesters also demanded an apology from the Laugh Factory. At a news conference a short time later, club owner Jamie Masada expressed remorse and said Richards will not be back at the club until he says he's sorry.

"This is one thing we don't tolerate. ... I personally apologize. I apologize from my heart," Masada said Monday.

Richards did appear at the club Saturday, without incident, but that was because he had told the club he intended to apologize, according to a Laugh Factory statement Monday.

Rodriguez, also at the news conference, said: "I kept expecting a punch line. It didn't come."

Veteran publicist Michael Levine, whose clients have included famed comedians George Carlin, Sam Kinison and Rodney Dangerfield, called Richards' remarks inexcusable. Comics often face hecklers without losing their cool, he said.

"It's never seen anything like this is my life," Levine said Monday. "I think it's a career ruiner for him. ... It's going to be a long road back for him, if at all."

Daryl Pitts, a Laugh Factory audience member interviewed by CNN, compared the incident to another recent celebrity controversy.

"You think about Mel Gibson and what he said, and put that in the context of this, it's very upsetting," Pitts said, referring to Gibson's anti-Semitic outburst during his arrest for drunken driving.

Scrutiny of Richards' remarks likely will continue but won't match the level prompted by Gibson's behavior because Richards is far less famous, Levine said.

Comedian George Lopez told Los Angeles television station KTLA that he thought Richards' lack of stand-up experience may have been a factor.

"The question is you have an actor who is trying to be a comedian who doesn't know what to do when an audience is disruptive," Lopez said. "He's an actor whose show has been off the air, he shouldn't ever be on a stand-up gig."
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-HECK!

Dude has some issues, but he made Seinfeld. I think he will bounce back.

This doesn't surprise me that much. I remember he flipped out on Andy Kaufman during a taping of 'Friday Night' way back when.

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Larry David was on that show too.

Paul Rodrigues is one of the funniest comics I've ever heard. I'm not shocked by Michael Richards, although he'll need to apologize to those who were offended.

I think he'll bounce back as well. Hell, you can kill a few people, abuse your spouse, shout racial profanities and still bounce back in Hollywood. Doesn't say much for society though.....

My own personal litmus test: If someone makes some dumbass statement in the press, like Elton John trashing on Christians, or some racist dude like David Duke explaining how he wants racial purity,

well, people like that suck bad enough, I won't give them time of day.


The rest, like Mel Gibson and various others, who get mad or drunk and let something fly that aint right, well they suck too, but I figure they got some issues, and if they say they are sorry and are fighting it, then it's cool.

Any press is good press. Hell, was anyone talking about Richards yesterday? Now, a ton of people will. Like Zsa Zsa Gabor slapping that cop. I seriously think fading celebrities plan these publicity stunts.

-HECK!

It's hard when you like somebody to jump on them.


Hillary Clinton would have done the same thing, I would automaticly comdemn her. I like Richards, guy makes me laugh, so I automaticly go the forgiveness route.


Juss human nature I spose.

Like the person, not the actions.

What a ..... a, uh.... ummm...

Are there any offensive names for the Jewish? I don't know any...

Tsk, there goes a perfectly good joke

I got called Jew Boy in school. Stupid kids, I went to church on Saturday, they found out, then called me Jew Boy.

I liked it though, thought it was cool....

You went to church to worship Jesus Christ and the kids at school called Jew boy?

..............was this, like, a, uh.... "special" school you went to, Whidden?

There are anti-semetic names, wouldn't say them here, but there are names for everything.

Kids always find names to call other kids. Always doesn't make sense.

-HECK!

I just saw the video of him going off. At first it looked like he was trying to be funny, and it kind of was (I didn't laugh, but people in the audience were laughing), but he totally went too far with what he was doing. I mean, there are ways to handle hecklers, and that wasn't one of them.

People in the audience did start calling him cracker and white-ass, so I'm not sure why exactly the ones who returned the racial slurs really think they're any better.

It's always the guy who starts it. Plus, whitey can't really use that word anymore. Even if cracker is thrown out. It's one of those things.

I guess Richards was on Letterman last night apologizing. At least he manned up. Hell, we all make mistakes. I say move on.

-HECK!

This is the most interesting story to come along in a long time.

This is the most interesting story to come along in a long time. So much to say (although, if I may suggest, it seems like this thread could be better classified under a different heading). The implications of this incident are broad.

What I don’t get is that Richards says he is not a racist, and most people find that pretty easy to accept. Everybody loves the guy. Yet look what he said. If he can say that and not be racist, how can anybody be a racist?

What is the criteria?

this is wack, yo

I'm probablygonna get flamed for this but her goes anyway.

was what he said wrong, yes.
should he have handled it differently, of course.

but there is a serious double standard here. Watch any black comedian out there and at some point in their show they are going to slam white people and everyone thinks it's funny and acceptiable. Noone gets all crazy about it, but if a white comedian does it its a big issue. Either way isn't unacceptable. But seriously think about it. If someone, say your significant other or a friend pisses you off, your most likely going to say the meanest thing you can think of just to hurt their feelings. You may not mean it, it might be completly out of line, but people do it. It happens, he'll bounce back but it will be awhile. He's never gonna be as big as he was on Seinfield.

Yeah, it's just one of those things that you can't do, but if goes for one group it should go for all.

I don't have any love for this guy. I guess Kramer was cool, but he was probably my least favorite from Seinfeld (I know that's a first). But his apology was pretty good; very honest.

I haven't seen the apology. I saw like a two second clip on tv and thats about it. I don't really care about this guy one way or another.

I heard the guys he was arguing with are thinking about suing him. thats just ridiculous.

I think it's silly to sue too.

I heard they were being represented by Gloria Allred, though, so I'm not at all surprised.

Michael Richards “Kramer” Go On Racial Tirade


At the Laugh Factory in LA, Michael Richards, more famously known as “Kramer” from the TV show “Seinfeld” went on a racial tirade when a group of black patrons were talking as they took their seats during his performance. Apparently Richards’s reaction was totally unprovoked as he continually used the highly racially offensive epithet “N-word” numerous times in describing the black patrons who were returning words with the comedian while onstage. The epithets, caught on a video cell phone by another patron, were followed by an equally offensive comment that “50 years ago we'd have you upside down with a f***ing fork up your ass."

Apparently this isn’t the first time the comedian used racially charged epithets in his standup routine at the Laugh Factory. According to two patrons at the Laugh Factory earlier this year, Richards went on another tirade when a man interrupted him in the audience.


“Carol Oschin and J.P. Fillet say they were at The Improv on April 22 when Richards took the stage. They say that in the middle of Richards' skit, a man in the audience said something to the comedian, when Richards allegedly launched into an anti-Semitic rant. According to Oschin, Richards screamed at the audience member, "You f***ing Jew. You people are the cause of Jesus dying."

See story here


In a satellite interview on the David Letterman Show, Richards made no excuses but apologized for his actions add that he’s not a racist. He also sought out some civil rights leaders to extend his apology and the olive branch in an effort to rehabilitate his image and to make amends for his offensive conduct.

Unbelievable that in this day and age we have someone who’s spout stuff like this. He’s his own worse enemy and deserves any fallout as a result of this.

If he’s not a racist as he says, he surely does a great impersonation of one. Maybe he should start doing impressions, because if he does impressions as good as he does one of an a$$hole, he’d become bigger than Rich Little.

It is a big waste of time and money to sue for something like this. If people are to going to be able to start suing people for name calling, every kid that got picked on in grade school is going to start suing.
THe men engaged in an agruement and he said something that was over the line. Theres not a valid basis for a law suit. You can't sue because someone hurt your feelings. But if the "Victims" believe it should be against the law to use racial slurs, what happens to the people in the audience that called this guy a cracker?

Sounds like they are just trying to get some money out of this. Becuase hes rich they want he to go before a retired judge. What they can't take it to a real court? Of cousre not, theyd lose., Why? It's just plain silly. You cant sue someone just because they have money. What do you think they would do if he was poor?

I was so surprised when it came out that Gloria Allred isn't gay. It was one of the biggest shocks of my life, as a matter of fact, along with the fact that Margaret Thatcher is really a woman.

That's right, if you want people to stop bashing a person in threads, call Gaboman to the rescue; he stops threads dead in their tracks.

Hmm... if you don't know who Gloria Allred is, then it's hard to explain. If you do know and you don't know what I mean, then it's probably even harder to explain.

"She's a man hater" is the easiest way I can put it

Tricked you gabo....


thread killer you are not.

hehehe, it's gonna die after that one, I reckon.

maybe...

ok now you are just trying to keep it going

In a similar situation, a couple months ago, Mel Gibson claimed that his anti-Jewish remarks were due to his delusional state while being drunk. But the news media quickly summoned experts who assured us that drunkenness cannot induce somebody to say things that they don’t already believe in their hearts.

So, Mel Gibson was not about to be let off the hook with the excuse of drunkenness. And yet, Richards seems to have been completely exonerated by the media culture inside of 24 hours. He apologized, but also claimed that the outburst came out of him independent of his will to stop it. So his apology is kind of like apologizing for a tornado. He even blamed his behavior on the same mysterious force that caused Bush to start the Iraq war, and in the process, he apologized for Bush, if you caught it.

Aside from the racism, there is also the issue of the way the rage manifested as a threat. There are laws against making threats. I would think that his reference to hanging people upside down with a fork up their rear might cross the line. Apparently he also proclaimed that he is rich, and has so much money that he could have his enemies arrested if he wished.

In similar incident a couple months ago, Mel Gibson claimed that his anti-Jewish remarks were due to his delusional state while being drunk. But the news media quickly summoned experts who assured us that drunkenness cannot induce somebody to say things that they don’t already believe in their hearts.

So, Mel Gibson was not about to be let off the hook with the excuse of drunkenness. And yet, Richards seems to have been completely exonerated by the media culture inside of 24 hours. He apologized, but also claimed that the outburst came out of him independent of his will to stop it. So his apology is kind of like apologizing for a tornado. He even blamed his behavior on the same mysterious force that caused Bush to start the Iraq war, and in the process, he apologized for Bush, if you caught it.

Aside from the racism, there is also the issue of the way the rage manifested as a threat. There are laws against making threats. I would think that his reference to hanging people upside down with a fork up their rear might cross the line. Apparently he also proclaimed that he is rich, and has so much money that he could have his enemies arrested if he wished.

I can’t excuse Mel Gibson’s behavior because he was wrong. I’m no too sure about the people can’t say what’s not really in their heart when their drunk because I’ve seen some drunk people make total butts out of themselves. However some people do say things in their hearts when they are inebriated.

I believe Richards tirade was worse than Gibson’s because not only was he stone cold sober, he did this in front of dozens of people in a public forum. God knows what he says and do in private.

I don’t know of any other incidents as to Gibson’s rantings but apparently Richards did this before in public forum. However, the Gibson incident seems to have gotten much more play in the public and much for outrage than the Richards incident and no one out side of the police heard his actual words.

Even in this forum, the Gibson incident got more play than this thread. I decided to make it because it seemed to have simply passed by the radar.

http://www.inreview.com/showthread....15&pagenumber=1

I wish the two threads were merged to this location. The importance of this topic seems a lot more like breaking news rather than just commentary on Sienfeld. I believe the Mel Gibson thread was located here. It would be very interesting to place the two threads side-by-side to see if the reactions to the two nearly indentical incidences are the same or not.

I am much more interested in the media reaction rather than what Richards actually did. Sienfeld was on Letterman with Richards apologizing by satellite. I would say that Sienfeld and Letterman both completely forgave Richards on the basis that he claimed to have no control over what he said, and on his claim that he was not a racist.

If the majority of the American people take that position of excusing Richards, then I would say that Richards should be given an award for ending racisim forever. Imagine that. A world without racism.

I stand corrected Dekka, thanks. Euclid however is right. When the Gibson incident happened, it was in this thread here. The scuttlebutt lounge takes a little more digging to get to and I believe it should have been here as well.

I’ve seen no calls for Richards head in the media or an end to his career, boycotts or any of the likes as we saw with Gibson. Personally, I think the guy (Richards) has some mental issues but if he went on an anti-jewish tirade like he did with those patrons at the Laugh Factory, his career would be officially over.

I’m interested to see how this plays out. Clearly this wasn't a case of words just popping out.

Merged threads and placed in Breaking News.

-HECK!

Here we go...

Men seek apology from ex-'Seinfeld' star

By ROBERT JABLON, Associated Press Writer

LOS ANGELES - Two men who say they were insulted by actor-comedian Michael Richards during his racist rant at a comedy club want a personal apology and maybe some money, their lawyer said Friday.

The men, Frank McBride and Kyle Doss, said they were part of a group of about 20 people who had gathered at West Hollywood's Laugh Factory to celebrate a friend's birthday. According to their attorney, Gloria Allred, they were ordering drinks when Richards berated them for interrupting his act.

When one of their group replied that he wasn't funny, Richards launched into a string of obscenities and repeatedly used the n-word. A video cell phone captured the outburst.

Richards, who played Jerry Seinfeld's wacky neighbor Kramer on the TV sitcom "Seinfeld," made a nationally televised apology on David Letterman's "Late Night" show earlier this week. He has since apologized to civil rights leaders the Rev. Jesse Jackson and the Rev. Al Sharpton.

But Allred complained Friday that he "has not apologized to his victims directly, face to face, man to man."

Richards' publicist said his client wants to apologize to both men, who are black, but hasn't been able to locate them.

Allred, speaking by phone from Colorado, said Richards should meet McBride and Doss in front of a retired judge to "acknowledge his behavior and to apologize to them" and allow the judge to decide on monetary compensation.

"It's not enough to say 'I'm sorry,'" she said.

She did not mention a specific figure, but pitched the idea as a way for the comic to avoid a lawsuit.

"Our clients were vulnerable," Allred said. "He went after them. He singled them out and he taunted them, and he did it in a closed room where they were captive."

The video of Richards' outburst shows several people getting up and walking out as he shouts at the audience.

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."
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I think he should make reparations for every single African-American in the USA.

So like $1.50 per person. I'll take my great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandmother's share. With interest, that should be about $250, 000 coming my way.

That's a good punishment for Michael Richards. He'll think twice before shooting off his mouth or get HECK'ler training For Dummies.

Not suprised by "Kramer's" Mel Gibsonish meltdown. A has-been like him should've retired in Florida and lived off his residual check instead of chasing his former limelight. I never could see what was funny about the guy, Jason Alexander is the funny one.

George Lopez said it right, about "Kramer's" lack of experience in stand-up comedy, not knowing how to deal with hecklers is his problem.

I don't think he should be sued, though, because that might cause ALL stand-up comedians to become TOO careful, and ruin stand-up comedy for good.

THE PROBLEM WITH APOLOGIES


There is power in being offended as demonstrated by the demand for monetary compensation from Richards. Demanding an apology works to fortify and highlight the damage that can be claimed for being offended. But the apology is a double-edged sword, because it basically closes the matter. It lets the perpetrator off the hook. Once you demand an apology and get it, what more do you want? As the offended one, it lets the air out of your balloon. It is a particularly thorny problem for Jesse Jackson, a man who makes a career of fighting racism. If he accepts Richards’ explanation that the outburst was beyond his free will to stop it, then it ends racism everywhere for all time, and Jackson is out of business. Whether his outburst was intentional or not is the pivotal issue with Richards. How can anybody be held accountable for something they cannot control?

So when you start shaking people down for what they believe, you have to be pretty particular about their apology. You have to walk a fine line or your fish might get away. That is why Ms. Allred accepts Richards’ Letterman apology, but only as partial payment. She is also calling for a face-to-face apology from Richards directly to the two men he was yelling at. And then she is asking for voluntary compensation. However, it would not exactly be voluntary because she is threatening to sue if the voluntary compensation is not forthcoming.

There are a lot of people cashing in on the moral high ground that is provided by an apology by apologizing for things they did not do. Apologizing to the world’s poor for the seeming indifference of the world’s rich, comes to mind as an example. Apologizing for not working hard enough to find a cure for AIDS would be another example. With an apology for a wrong that you have actually committed, there is the good feedback that comes from the humility and graciousness of the apology, but that bliss is tinged with the sting of the injury that you caused that required the apology in the first place.

But when you apologize for something that somebody else did, then it is a win-win for you. This tactic is especially attractive if the one you are apologizing for is your political enemy. You get the benefit of the apology and your enemy gets blamed for doing what you have highlighted in apologizing for it. It’s a beautiful day.

I'll say again that I think what Richards did was WRONG! But he shouldn't be sued for it.

I don't think this incidence is getting as much attention as the gibson tirade simply because Richards isn't as big a star as gibson is. I don't think it has anything to do with the people it offended, it's just a matter of someone that is really popular as opposed to someone who used to be sort of popular a while back. You could expect that one would get more coverage than the other.

"KKKramer," I like it malcolm. Funny stuff.

Yes, Richardson is Jewish. The entire (main) cast of Seinfeld are.

African Americans can question him as much as they want, I guess. I'm not exactly sure you are the one to determine the appropriate apology for him, however, as you are in no way connected to this case. You may as well get me to determine what he should say.

And Seinfeld has no questions to be answered, this has nothing to do with him.

I heard lickesy splitsberg eats live kittens. (What? I'm not talking about you!)

Hehehe I didn't even notice that, and I copied the Richardson thing

I found a picture of Richael Michards trying to bribe a monkey. Michards had said some insults against simians and was in some hot water with that group in the past. He was was caught saying..."monkey see, monkey doo doo..." "Get that damn stinkin' ape outta here!.." Apparently, monkeys don't find him funny either.

Unbelievable! click here


(Hey, Mikey...if you need material for your act call on me) - Sickety_lipst

I don't get it, if Jesse Jackson was doing something you believed in, you would then think he's speaking for the black race then? Seems that since he's "supporting" Michael Richards (though he's more giving the fellow a chance to explain)... that's a no no, in your book?

Michael Richards should apologize, and he has; perhaps he give some money to charities to show his sincerity... but he certainly shouldn't just do what he's told to. Also, giving 100% of his royalties to a charity certainly isn't fair on him, regardless of him being an idiot.

(PS. If he had leverage in Hollywood, he'd be in a movie himself once in a while )

People sometimes are offensive, and people sometimes choose to be offended. The only remedy is to choose not to be offended, because all the money in the world cannot undo an offense if the offended persons choose to be offended.

In fact, if you offend someone, and then give them a million dollars to make it right, the offended one will remain offended forever in order to prove that they were right and deserved the money.

Right now, Gloria Allred is only asking for money, but if it is not offered, she intends to sue. It will be very interesting to see what a jury does to Richards in this case.

Yeah, well Jesse Jackson should watch the Bernie Mac show sometimes, there are no whities on there.

There is no basis for a lawsuit, give me a break. He called these people a name. Unforunately it was a racial hand grenade, but it was just a name. Not to mention these hecklers started it. Calling him washed up, a failure, the only thing he ever did was Seinfeld, blah blah. Now I'm not saying they deserved to be called that, by no means, but if they would have shut their damn pie holes and watched the show like normal people then this wouldn't have happened. Not to mention they had no problem throwin' out the Cracker expletive. It's not the same but it's obvious they can go the race route too.

The club owner gave their money back, they should be happy they got that.

-HECK!

Heck, I guess it’s just my season to disagree with you. I noticed the trend lately.

I read somewhere that Richards went on in the same club and made some derogatory comments about Jews a few months prior to the N-word outburst. What is shocking to me is that Richards is not really Jewish either.

LOS ANGELES Nov 28, 2006 (AP)— Just when it seemed Michael Richards was about to leave the most troubling incident of his career behind, his publicist is having to explain how the comic could consider himself to be Jewish.

Last week, crisis-management expert Howard Rubenstein acknowledged that Richards had shouted anti-Semitic remarks in an April standup comedy routine well before his appearance earlier this month in which he harangued hecklers with the n-word. But he defended Richards' language about Jews, saying that the comic "is Jewish. He's not anti-Semitic at all. He was role-playing."

As Rubenstein's assertion circulated, Jewish organizations and commentators pointed out that the man who played Cosmo Kramer on "Seinfeld" has not converted to Judaism and neither of his parents are Jewish.

Which makes him …

"Technically, not having been born by blood as Jewish and not formally going into a conversion, it was purely his interpretation of having adopted Judaism as his religion," Rubenstein told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "He told me, `I'm Jewish,' when I asked him.

"He said there were two mentors who raised him and who had a big influence on his life, and they were Jewish. He said, `I agree with the concepts and the religious beliefs of Judaism and I've adopted Judaism as my religion,'" Rubenstein said. "He really thinks of himself as Jewish."

What do some Jews think?

"You can't feel Jewish. It's not a matter of feeling. You can convert to Judaism. You can't not convert to Judaism and then be Jewish," said Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder and dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles.

Hier defined being Jewish from two perspectives, if someone hasn't gone through the process of formal conversion.

"From the Orthodox point of view, if that person has a Jewish mother, he would be considered Jewish," Hier said. "In the Reform tradition, there's also a patrilineage. Under those categories, he would not fit."

Rabbi Mark S. Diamond of the 280-member Board of Rabbis of Southern California agreed.

"There are many people who appreciate Jewish customs, who may embrace aspects of Jewish culture and practice, but that does not make them Jewish," he said.

After his tirade came to light, Richards apologized on David Letterman's "Late Show" on CBS, saying his remarks were sparked by anger at being heckled, not bigotry. He also apologized to the Rev. Al Sharpton, and apologized Sunday on the Rev. Jesse Jackson's syndicated radio program.

Rubenstein said Richards wasn't available for an interview Tuesday.

"He wants to rest," the publicist said. "He's been talking to his psychiatrist."

Yes, there are people who have made that accusation. Given what I've seen with my own two eyes, I'd say it's highly probable.

Sad thing is that this is the 21st century but in reality, it wasn't that long ago that minorities were given the right to simply vote.

Heck I had to go back and take a look at this because it sounds like AP didn’t get the story completely correct.

{url=http://us.video.aol.com/video.index.adp?mode=1&pmmsid=1772645]Tirade Here[/url]

The video was taken by another patron at the club. The reason they started filming was because of the things Richards said before the film started. If you noticed as well, the person filming put the camera right on Richards, not the men in the audience.

Opps, typo

Tirade Here

Heard on the radio that the new season 7 of Seinfeld DVD is outselling any previous DVD season released by a mile.

-HECK!

Euclid, that's why Jerry popped up on Letterman because he saw this incident as potential to hurt his future assets wih Seinfeld syndications.

Jesse Jackson is calling for a boycott of the DVD. Others are calling for a ban on the n-word.

Just what Seinfeld feared. I can't blame him because Richards is messing it up for the rest of the cast.

Comedians such as Paul Mooney have renounced the n-word and are encouraging other African-American comedians to refrain from using it as well. I think Mooney said he'll use "Black" instead of the N-word, and "Heifers" instead of B-tch. Richard Pryor denounced the N-word in the late 80's as well.

If I find that article, I'll post it.

I still think Seinfeld is one of the only shows worth watching.

Kramer is still my favorite character.

Mike Richards, the actor, can kiss my black ass.

I was making the point that Richard’s tirade had far reaching implications that didn’t stop with only him. One of the potential fallouts is the calling for a boycott of Seinfeld products like the DVD just mentioned earlier.

Jerry Seinfeld was trying to head this off at the pass because he saw this as a potential to interfere with his revenue. This is what I mean by saying. “Just as Seinfeld feared”.

'Seinfeld' season seven DVD sales are doing fine

November 29, 2006

Detroit Free Press

Michael Richards may have imploded his career, but he hasn't hurt the performance of the "Seinfeld" season seven DVD so far, says TMZ.com.

The celebrity news and gossip Web site is reporting that sales of the latest "Seinfeld" DVD are doing fine, even though it was released in the midst of widespread media coverage of Richards' racist tirade at a comedy club.

TMZ.com says that according to the Web site DVD Empire, the sitcom's season seven sales are up 75 percent over season six and 90 percent over season five.

DVD Empire ranks the "Seinfeld" season seven DVD as No. 8 on its current bestseller list.

The "Seinfeld" DVD came out last week, a day after TMZ.com posted a cellphone video of Richards spewing racist slurs onstage.
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Could this have actually helped DVD sales?

-HECK!

Who knows how these things will play out in the public. I'm sure Seinfeld was nervous because of the potential to harm sales.

But as it turns out, it may have helped them. It could be a case of people wanting to see the imbecile who did this perform on Seinfeld. After all, I’ve heard his character derangement on the show was synonymous to that of his real life.

Cosmo Kramer was a great man!

It's like they say: there is no bad press.

Remember when that English turd Hugh Grant got popped getting with a hooker way back? He goes on Jay Leno to talk about it. Not only was that the first time The Tonight Show beat Letterman, it hasn't given up that title since, Grant goes on to make a bunch of movies and is still liked by all.

Eddie Murphy was busted with a tranny whore in his car, then he does Nutty Professor and Daddy Day Care.

The public has a short term memory. All that people will recall is that Michael Richards was in the news and said something about someone. Meanwhile he's making absolute bank on the syndication and DVD royalties from Seinfeld. At this point he will probably end up on some dumb ass reality show which will invariably reinvigorate his career. Ironic since the hecklers called him washed up in the first place.

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Sounds like something Kramer would do.

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Don't know man, banning a word? If we want free speech it's either all free or none of it is. I don't use that word, I am no racist, but ignorant or unpopular speech has to be protected.

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Oh yeah, I would ban it. Not in private conversation, but in public events, certain words like the F word have landed folks in jail in certain towns over the years, like George Carlin.

Ban it from all the rap songs, all the comedy routines....censor it. I don't think Western Civilization will crumble as a result.

Then what's the next word banned? It's a slippery slope and next thing you know we'll just be doing sign language or grunting.

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THEN WE COULD BAN MIMES!!!


Oops, left the cap lock on from the Flamers Ward thread, didn't mean to yell.


Hell, I dunno, people need to self censor themselves sometimes, public outcry puts them in dey place rarely, like this event here, but this country had strict laws against public cursing most of it's existence. As the society changes, and words are not that offensive anymore, (like hell and damn have found their way into the mainstream) it aint no big deal no more.

But the N word is just about the most explosive word out there right now. I'm even for editing Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. Just get rid of it.

Sure, you can't yell "fire" in a theater and you shouldn't call a black person n*****. It's not cool. I hope it does weed it's way out of everyone's vocabulary. I'm sure it will one day. But to ban a word, like criminally or something is absolutely facist.

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I think the word would definately die out if the people who didnt want to be it wouldnt say it. I know the amount of non african americans who say the word has declined drestically over the years. The word is mostly used by afican americans and retarded white kids thinking its cool cause they are down with the home boys or something. And then there are still those rasist people but those numbers are declining as well. I think society as a whole is becomeing more acceping of people, but I do know that racesim works in all directions, and it's not only white people that can be rasist.

poeple shouldnt say it, but i dont think you can ban it.