Michael Richards Meltdown

[Guest the mommy]

i think the hecklers said "stick a fork in him. he's done."

does richards "fork up your ass..." comment make a bit more sense now?

doesn't make it right-but i think that's what provoked it.

his apology makes him come off as insane. it is no less F-ed up than his original rant.

i can't imagine acting that insane on national television.

it is also yucky washed up comedians are leeching on this for a new moment in the limelight (rodriguez, sinbad, etc).

[RDK]

The Rev. Al Sharpton called the Letterman venue "unacceptable."

"[He] should apologize to the people to whom his remarks were directed and most offended," Sharpton said in a statement.

"In all due respect to David Letterman, it seems strange that one would insult African-Americans in a long tirade and then go on a white television show with a mostly white studio and viewing audience to make a statement of apology."

A statement posted on the Laugh Factory Web site said Richards is now persona non grata, and will never perform there again.

But club owner Jamie Masada said yesterday that Richards could be onstage again - but only after personally apologizing to the African-American customers he verbally attacked last week.

From what I've read, Richards has tried to apologize personally to the men in question, but they've refused to meet with him and have said that they won't accept any apology from him anyway.

[Chalupa]

A statement posted on the Laugh Factory Web site said Richards is now persona non grata, and will never perform there again.

Why did they let him perform the next night? Where was their indignation then???

[DukeCity]

A statement posted on the Laugh Factory Web site said Richards is now persona non grata, and will never perform there again.

Why did they let him perform the next night? Where was their indignation then???

I think he told the Laugh Factory people that he wanted to go on the next night to apologize, but then went on and did not do so.

[DukeCity]

The Rev. Al Sharpton called the Letterman venue "unacceptable."

"[He] should apologize to the people to whom his remarks were directed and most offended," Sharpton said in a statement.

"In all due respect to David Letterman, it seems strange that one would insult African-Americans in a long tirade and then go on a white television show with a mostly white studio and viewing audience to make a statement of apology."

So whose show should he have gone on, Arsenio? Magic Johnson? Wayne Brady?

I guess maybe Oprah, or Tyra.

[Cali]

it is also yucky washed up comedians are leeching on this for a new moment in the limelight (rodriguez, sinbad, etc).

Rodriquez was at the club when the incident occurred, therefore I understand him being interviewed. As a fellow comedian in attendance I think his point of view is insightful and creditable.

[Cali]

I guess maybe Oprah, or Tyra.

Why not Oprah?

[Jazzmoose]

i think the hecklers said "stick a fork in him. he's done."

does richards "fork up your ass..." comment make a bit more sense now?

doesn't make it right-but i think that's what provoked it.

Yeah. Now, explain the "that's what happens when you interrupt a white man" comment...

[trane_fanatic]

i think the hecklers said "stick a fork in him. he's done."

does richards "fork up your ass..." comment make a bit more sense now?

doesn't make it right-but i think that's what provoked it.

The only thing those two comments had in common are the word "fork", period. A heckling about being washed up directed at a perfomer in a comedy club should not provoke a rant about lynching and racial slurs for 3+ minutes.

[Neal Pomea]

He wasn't saying they should be lynched and he wasn't calling them the N word, either. He was being satirical, saying in effect "Don't act like you are oppressed. You want to know what oppression is? It's what happened 50 years ago when the all white audience would have cried out 'Look, there's a N. N. N. N.' Let's lynch them for interrupting a white man. That's what oppression was."

Or something like that.

They should apologize for interrupting his act, not sue him for oppressing them.

And he shouldn't try to be satirical again because he just pissed off people (if, that is, anybody gives him a chance to perform again.)

I don't understand this talk about referencing lynching. He wasn't advocating that they should be lynched, any more than a history book recounting those days advocates it. He was commenting on it, satirizing it.

In my opinion.

Edited November 22, 2006 by It Should be You

[trane_fanatic]

He wasn't saying they should be lynched and he wasn't calling them the N word, either. He was being satirical, saying in effect "Don't act like you are oppressed. You want to know what oppression is? It's what happened 50 years ago when the all white audience would have cried out 'Look, there's a N. N. N. N.' Let's lynch them for interrupting a white man. That's what oppression was."

Or something like that.

They should apologize for interrupting his act, not sue him for oppressing them.

And he shouldn't try to be satirical again because he just pissed off people (if, that is, anybody gives him a chance to perform again.)

I don't understand this talk about referencing lynching. He wasn't advocating that they should be lynched, any more than a history book recounting those days advocates it. He was commenting on it, satirizing it.

In my opinion.

I think you need to go back and watch the video again because you are seriously detached from reality.

[Jim R]

i think the hecklers said "stick a fork in him. he's done."

does richards "fork up your ass..." comment make a bit more sense now?

doesn't make it right-but i think that's what provoked it.

The only thing those two comments had in common are the word "fork", period.

I think that was kind of the point being made. One "fork" led to another, as it were.

A heckling about being washed up directed at a perfomer in a comedy club should not provoke a rant about lynching and racial slurs for 3+ minutes.

I think we all agree ("doesn't make it right").

I think the guy obviously tried to "push the envelope" (trying to shock the hecklers into submission), and it spiraled out of control (yes, insanely... and hard to understand for a veteran performer of his age). Hasn't our culture been moving closer and closer to "the edge"? Isn't comedy these days increasingly agressive, loud, nasty, vulgar, offensive? Well, I've been around long enough to answer that one myself. Yes. Richards pushed it too far, and in his anger, lost control of any semblance of sanity to control the "comedy". He blew it. Big time. He may have been harboring racist tendencies for years, and maybe not. None of us can know that for sure. It's a huge gaffe, an offensive gaffe, but he didn't kill anybody. Whether or not you like(d) him as a comedian, I think it's best to try to forgive the guy (not in any way to condone, but to allow for the fact that he's a human being who made a huge mistake) and move on. I remember him from a time before Seinfeld, and I never thought he was very funny, fwiw.

edit: Just for the record, my post was made before I saw the two previous posts. So, my "we all agree" comment may have come at the wrong time...

Edited November 22, 2006 by Jim R

[Rooster_Ties]

I saw the apology on Letterman (via Countdown last night), and Richards looked scared to death to me. Rambling, sure, and awkward, oh yeah -- but I think he was mostly being sincere in his apology.

Does it excuse the original behavor? - is entirely a different question (and one I don't have an answer for).

And whether the apology was enough (or should be enough) remains to be seen. Personally I think Richards was scared to death that his entire career was over, and it may well have been.

Edited November 22, 2006 by Rooster_Ties

[RDK]

Speaking of "detached from reality," how do we explain Richards' behavior? Bigot/racist or not, who in their right mind would even consider making racial slurs and insanely over-the-top "jokes" about lynching to a black man in a crowded audience? I'm not of the belief that using the "n" word automatically makes one a racist - I tend to believe that actions speak louder than words and take to heart my mom's "sticks & stones..." advice - but Richards' outburst was clearly irrational. He's a celebrity, a seasoned performer, and knows full well the power of the media. Even David Duke would be smart enough not to spout off like that anywhere outside of a Klan rally...

[trane_fanatic]

i think the hecklers said "stick a fork in him. he's done."

does richards "fork up your ass..." comment make a bit more sense now?

doesn't make it right-but i think that's what provoked it.

The only thing those two comments had in common are the word "fork", period.

I think that was kind of the point being made. One "fork" led to another, as it were.

A heckling about being washed up directed at a perfomer in a comedy club should not provoke a rant about lynching and racial slurs for 3+ minutes.

I think we all agree ("doesn't make it right").

I think the guy obviously tried to "push the envelope" (trying to shock the hecklers into submission), and it spiraled out of control (yes, insanely... and hard to understand for a veteran performer of his age). Hasn't our culture been moving closer and closer to "the edge"? Isn't comedy these days increasingly agressive, loud, nasty, vulgar, offensive? Well, I've been around long enough to answer that one myself. Yes. Richards pushed it too far, and in his anger, lost control of any semblance of sanity to control the "comedy". He blew it. Big time. He may have been harboring racist tendencies for years, and maybe not. None of us can know that for sure. It's a huge gaffe, an offensive gaffe, but he didn't kill anybody. Whether or not you like(d) him as a comedian, I think it's best to try to forgive the guy (not in any way to condone, but to allow for the fact that he's a human being who made a huge mistake) and move on. I remember him from a time before Seinfeld, and I never thought he was very funny, fwiw.

edit: Just for the record, my post was made before I saw the two previous posts. So, my "we all agree" comment may have come at the wrong time...

I see your point and respect it, Jim. It is some of these other comments that have me shaking my head. Thank you and have a great holiday.

Edited November 22, 2006 by trane_fanatic

[Cali]

Well, from the rationalizations I'm reading I see that black folks and white folks are worlds apart on the issue of racism. Some people are saying he should be forgiven (by black people?) because everyone makes mistakes. And "he just snapped". Some of you don't even see the implied lynching in his rant.

Certainly, I have never screamed racial epithets at others, and I don't associate with anyone else that would do such a thing. We all make mistakes but not everyone makes those kinds of mistakes. If you don't have those feelings in your heart they won't come out of your mouth.

There are black comedy clubs in L.A., also, and I can guarantee he would not have "just snapped" in any of those. Rightfully or wrongfully he would have gotten his ass kicked if he had said those things at a black comedy club. Bodyguards could not have saved his sorry ass.

No, he knew exactly where he was, West Hollywood, and that he could "snap" with impunity in that environment. In my opinion, he did not just "lose it". He picked his spot to lose it.

[Jim R]

Speaking of "detached from reality," how do we explain Richards' behavior? Bigot/racist or not, who in their right mind would even consider making racial slurs and insanely over-the-top "jokes" about lynching to a black man in a crowded audience? I'm not of the belief that using the "n" word automatically makes one a racist - I tend to believe that actions speak louder than words and take to heart my mom's "sticks & stones..." advice - but Richards' outburst was clearly irrational. He's a celebrity, a seasoned performer, and knows full well the power of the media. Even David Duke would be smart enough not to spout off like that anywhere outside of a Klan rally...

Ray, I agree completely. I didn't elaborate on the point as you did, but that's what I meant by:

"it spiraled out of control (yes, insanely... and hard to understand for a veteran performer of his age). Hasn't our culture been moving closer and closer to "the edge"? Isn't comedy these days increasingly agressive, loud, nasty, vulgar, offensive? Well, I've been around long enough to answer that one myself. Yes. Richards pushed it too far, and in his anger, lost control of any semblance of sanity to control the "comedy". "

Just bizarre. But then... this guy's approach to comedy always bordered on the bizarre. I need a performer to be a bit more than simply bizarre in order to make me laugh... but that's another discussion.

[Larry Kart]

Having finally taken a look at the tape (didn't have the stomach for it before), I can see where Richards in the heat of the moment might have thought he was channeling one aspect of Lenny Bruce -- but not even close, not even close. Again, in addition to the evidence that Richards has a history of being much too tightly wound for his own good, his insistence that this was in any way a justified retaliation for being "interrupted" while doing his act is nonsense. There are three ways, at least, for a comedian to deal with such situations, which arise fairly often 1) You deliver one of many time-tested and in some cases fairly amusing put-downs and win the crowd over to your side 2) If things are really getting out of hand, you signal management to handle/defuse the situation and then resume where you left off 3) You construct some sort of semi-spontaneous bit that takes what's going on and explores it's "reality" in a way that's at once truthful, disturbing, and (you hope eventually) amusing -- this being the Lenny Bruce option. Seems like Richards thought he was going in that last direction, perhaps thinking of Bruce's old "How to relax your colored friends at parties" bit (which ain't that good anyhow, not by Bruce's standards), but first, he's no Lenny, and second, he seems to have been so primally enraged that his sheer hostility is what came through.

[Jim R]

Well, from the rationalizations I'm reading I see that black folks and white folks are worlds apart on the issue of racism. Some people are saying he should be forgiven (by black people?)

By all people, imo... maybe that's idealistic, and maybe it's too soon after the offense for some blacks to even want to consider it, but like I said, he didn't kill anybody.

Certainly, I have never screamed racial epithets at others, and I don't associate with anyone else that would do such a thing. We all make mistakes but not everyone makes those kinds of mistakes. If you don't have those feelings in your heart they won't come out of your mouth.

Point taken. It's pretty hard to defend him on the grounds that anger alone created the things that rolled off of his tongue. Still, I'm not prepared to pass judgement on that. I'm not sure it matters whether he can be proven to be racist or not. He said what he said, and (apparently) quickly realized that he had made a very large mistake, and quickly apologized. Like I said, I'd never pay to see him anyway, but what else do we need from him here?

There are black comedy clubs in L.A., also, and I can guarantee he would not have "just snapped" in any of those. Rightfully or wrongfully he would have gotten his ass kicked if he had said those things at a black comedy club. Bodyguards could not have saved his sorry ass.

No, he knew exactly where he was, West Hollywood, and that he could "snap" with impunity in that environment. In my opinion, he did not just "lose it". He picked his spot to lose it.

Well, I see your point there too, although I think it's a bit unnecessary to talk about a scenario where he would be beaten for doing what he did in the wrong environment. He would have been just as wrong, and would have deserved the same scrutiny, but not physical violence (and maybe that's slightly idealistic too ).

Edited November 22, 2006 by Jim R

[Neal Pomea]

I think you need to go back and watch the video again because you are seriously detached from reality.

No thanks. It scared me to watch it, and it sure made the audience sick. I don't think I am at all detached from reality, friend. Not at all. Confident that I am not, thank you. I am trying to understand what Richards thought he was doing. If I were out of touch with reality, I would not realize how much his performance hurt people. But I do realize it.

Even with a benign interpretation, he should not have done it. He was genuinely mad at the hecklers, and if he was trying to make social commentary about oppression of "gangstas," he is not the one to do it and not under those circumstances. On the Letterman show he seemed shocked and upset that he could call up such anger and hate as emotions in order to give such a performance that looked so realistic, but that doesn't mean he is racist, in my opinion.

And on the issue of referencing lynching, it has been before done in comedic ways. In Blazing Saddles, there is a scene where the town is going to lynch the black sheriff (and they use the N word), but he outwits the rubes and racists by kidnapping himself. It was a funny scene, and I don't recall anyone accusing Mel Brooks of racism. Richards' performance was not funny at all because it was too realistic and it sickened the audience. If he wanted to shock, he shocked all right, but to no good end. And I don't put any stock in what Paul Rodriguez or Sinbad were saying about it. We don't even know if they were paying close attention, or if they suspect Richards because of something they know about him backstage.

And on top of that, he doesn't have the stature or the voice to be lecturing blacks about whether they are oppressed. Voices like Bill Cosby can't even be heard.

Edited November 22, 2006 by It Should be You

[marcello]

You construct some sort of semi-spontaneous bit that takes what's going on and explores it's "reality" in a way that's at once truthful, disturbing, and (you hope eventually) amusing -- this being the Lenny Bruce option. Seems like Richards thought he was going in that last direction, perhaps thinking of Bruce's old "How to relax your colored friends at parties" bit (which ain't that good anyhow, not by Bruce's standards), but first, he's no Lenny, and second, he seems to have been so primally enraged that his sheer hostility is what came through.

You are so right, Larry.

Lenny talked about Lyndon Johnson having to rehearse how to pronounce "Negro" on TV: "It's knee-grow, Lyndon. Come on, try it again - knee-grow. "

[JSngry]

Why is the Esso Oil Drop so sad? Just because it's gonna be cool?

C'mon little fella, cheer up!

[Chalupa]

New T-Shirt

http://www.tshirthell.com/store/product.php?productid=809

[Chalupa]

"Stick a fork in him. He's done."

[Alexander]

Richards clearly owes people an apology (which I think he has done), but there really isn't anything he can do beyond that. All he can do is hope that people either forgive him or have short memories. As I said before, I don't think that this precludes our ability to enjoy "Seinfeld" or the Kramer character. I don't think it would do any good to "boycott" the show or refuse to buy the DVDs. Richards will be punished (as he already has been) with bad publicity. That's all there is that can be done.

As for the guys who are suing, this goes beyond the definition of "frivilous lawsuit." I don't agree with the people who are suing Sacha Baron Cohen, but you can at least argue that there's been some form of defemation of character. After all, those people were actually held up to public humilation while Baron Cohen profits. But nothing of the sort has happened here. These men came forward and identifed *themselves* as the victims of Richards tirade. He didn't call them by name. Their faces do not appear in the video. He owes them an apology (which they've refused). I don't think he owes them a penny.