"Kramer's" Racist Tirade -- Caught on Tape

TMZ ^ | 11/20/06 | TMZ Staff

[torchthemummy]

Michael Richards exploded in anger as he performed at a famous L.A. comedy club last Friday, hurling racial epithets that left the crowd gasping, and TMZ has obtained exclusive video of the ugly incident.

[torchthemummy]

Not good. You've got to see the clip.

[50sDad]

Cubebound. Who/what does he attack?

[finnman69]

He apparently did not learn from the Puerto Rican Day parade episode.

[Fierce Allegiance]

Seinfeld fyi ping.

[LongElegantLegs]

Maybe it was a botched joke.

[Coachm]

2 black guys in the front row that were heckling him.

next part of this story will be he's a major repub supporter. if not, it'll be buried shortly.

[July 4th]

Maybe it was a botched joke.

If so, he REALLY effed it up. Wow.

[Squeako]

He's a loathsome, offensive brute...yet, I had to stop watching. That was ugly.

[johnny7]

Say it ain't so K-man! ;)

[finnman69]

Kramer burns the Puerto rican flag

[Mo1]

not cool

[poobear]

Doesn't look or sound like Michael Richards.

[RetiredArmy]

Very poor video. I could not recognize him in it.

[metmom]

2 black guys in the front row that were heckling him.

They didn't get that part on tape, now did they? Interesting.

[MotleyGirl70]

Lol!

[torchthemummy]

I'm a slow typer. The accompanying story does a general breakdown. What isn't noted is it is a black guy that is rightfully upset but then cedes the moral high ground by calling Richards a "cracker" and "whgite boy." Ironically this was one of the few instances where I would agree in a black guy calling a white guy a cracker. Obviously the n-word is worse in a historical context while "cracker" is indeed a racist word (and I hate both) but in this exchange I see the "cracker" label being justifiably used to counter. Wow. And what a bummer.

[dhs12345]

Have you seen your typical black comedian's comedy routine?

Hundreds of n-bombs and racism towards blacks. Guess it is okay if they do it. Or using the n-word might not be as bad as they would like you to think.

[MotleyGirl70]

Uncool and rude K-Man.

[Labyrinthos]

Cubebound. Who/what does he attack?

He verbally attacked two hecklers using the "N" word. The hecklers happened to be Black. Apparently, somewhat forgot to tell Michael Richards that only Chris Rock, Richard Prior, and Robert Byrd are allowed to use the "N" word in a comedy routine.

[Uncledave]

kramer, you're a berry, berry bahd mon.

[2banana]

Quick - call KERRY!

[Bogey78O]

The one group with the one word that you can never use.

[domenad]

Bump for later, DEFINITELY.

[Always Right]

Maybe it was a botched joke.

Yeah, I am sure the comment was meant for Bush and was not targeting at the audiance. Cramer will have to get the DNC to manufacture a phoney transcript of what he really meant to say.

[meandog]

next part of this story will be he's a major repub supporter. if not, it'll be buried shortly...

Naw, the next part will have him checking into a rehab center and blaming it on alcohol or stimulants.

[skaterboy]

i know he aint been on tv since seinfeld but damn this aint the way

[Mo1]

regardless .. what he said was not called for

[MotleyGirl70]

Oustanding! You win the thread.

[torchthemummy]

Thta is a poor video but there is no doubt that is his voice. I doubt the legal jeopardy to be risked by publishing such an article would be too great for TMZ to be careless. I also believe the video was reduced to get the story out and the higher resolution version being saved so as to sell it. Otherwise this is a video from a standard digital camera that allows small clips and is very low resolution by the cameras limitation.

[SengirV]

WOW!!!!

[4yearlurker]

It also could be that the two hecklers in the front row were planted there and part of the act. Ala Andy Kaufman style.

[Robert A. Cook, PE]

What is he?

Who is he and why should I care? (Other than typical Hollywood extremist hypocritical hatred, of course.)

[Ajnin]

I read the comments and was amazed at the abject pansies commenting on how disgusting and racist his comments were.

[RayChuang88]

In spite of my concerns about political correctness, what he did was just totally uncalled for, to say the least.

[Old Grumpy]

Another Hollywood career bites the dust.

[Monterrosa-24]

I'm surprised he needs the money enough to do any live stand up work. But in comedy clubs I would say anything goes these days including bad taste, scatological humor, blasphemy, and the ugliest sides of sex. This little tirade should not shock anybody.

[i_dont_chat]

I'd like to disagree somewhat with the statement that some of the audience left in disgust.

Of course, I don't know if they were disgusted or not -- or at whom. But the clip clearly shows that after Michaels left the stage, when people starting leaving their seats. Because they knew the show was over.

[torchthemummy]

"Have you seen your typical black comedian's comedy routine?"

I agree and that's why I don't watch that crap. I did too much research on the abolition movement, Jim Crow, and the modern civil rights movement to embrace what I consider self-destructive behavior.

[Bigh4u2]

"This video has been removed at the request of copyright owner Warner Brothers Entertainment because its content was used without permission"

[new cruelty]

I doubt he does it for the money. Then again, he probably doesn't do it for the admiration of the crowds.

[Kozak]

funny, I just watched it.....

[Rb ver. 2.0]

"2 black guys in the front row that were heckling him. They didn't get that part on tape, now did they? Interesting."

Because there was nothing worth videoing until Richards started spewing.

[Cagey]

It wasn't anger, it was a seizure.

Elaine: Hey, hey, wait a minute! Let me ask you something. Kramer, the last time you hit your head, was Mary Hart on TV?

Kramer: Yeah.


Elaine: That is it!

Kramer: What?


Elaine: That is it! Mary Hart's voice, don't you see? There's something about Mary Hart's voice that's giving you seizures. Just like, just like, just like that woman in Albany!

[Rb ver. 2.0]

The proper way for a heckler to dispose of a comedian:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14rgFmWKT_0

[higgmeister]

Richards is not, nor ever will be a Cracker.

Cracker is a term that identifies a region of the South, along the coast, from the Carolinas through Georgia to Florida.

When I grew up, being a Georgia Cracker was a good thing.

The term comes from the fact that all we had to live on was hardtack bread, otherwise known as a cracker.

In recent times Yankees have tried to turn the term into a negative racial stereotype.

[Polyxene]

First Mel Gibson, now Kramer. Who will be next?? The Hollyweirdos are showing their true colors!

[i_dont_chat]

You must listen to the tape.

One man in the audience was telling Michaels he had no talent, that he didn't get a movie or a TV show after Steinfeld because he's no good. The guy was VERY loud and there is no way that Michaels could have ignored it. I take it from Michaels' rant, that what started it was when a black man/men in the audience were talking loudly during his act. That is what started Michaels on a racist rant about blacks.

[Constitution Day]

Holy CRAP!

There's no defending that. Simply unacceptable.

[RetiredArmy]

I have never watched a minute of a Steinfeld show, and really don't care for these people. I have seen him on advertisements for the show. His character reminded me of someone severely off their meds or mentally unstable. I could care less for that show or its so called actors.

Acting is such a high paying job for people who like to pretend to be something they are not. I love George Clooney for bashing the USA and the military and has made two movies where the puke is in the military. Go figure. He wears the uniform pretending, but is a coward when he could wear it for real. All of Hollyweird are cowards in my opinion, as are all dimocrats.