Michael Richards, best known for his role as the zany neighbor Cosmo Kramer in the massive sitcom “Seinfeld,” wants people to know: “I’m not racist.”
Richards’ racist outburst in 2006 at the Laugh Factory — in which he hurled slurs, including the n-word, and insults at patrons — severely stunted his career, which had already taken a turn for the worse after the end of “Seinfeld.”
“I was immediately sorry the moment I said it onstage,” he told People Magazine. “My anger was all over the place and it came through hard and fast . . . Crisis managers wanted me to do damage control. But as far as I was concerned, the damage was inside of me.”
The incident, occurring after a heckler interrupted with, “You’re not funny. We don’t think you’re very funny!” per an excerpt from the book, was captured on cell phone video and obtained by TMZ, leading to an apology on the “Late Show with David Letterman” that did little to stop the backlash.
Richards is releasing a memoir, “Entrances and Exits,” this June, but told People that he’s “not looking for a comeback.”
“I’m not racist,” Richards told People. “I have nothing against Black people. The man who told me I wasn’t funny had just said what I’d been saying to myself for a while. I felt put down. I wanted to put him down.”
In the interview, Richards also discussed turning down a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, noting that he “didn’t feel deserving.” He also claimed that he turned down a hosting invitation from “Saturday Night Live” twice, too, for similar reasons.
Richards was recently spotted on the red carpet for the first time in years, supporting his one-time co-star Jerry Seinfeld, who is facing his own criticism for his support of Israel’s bombing campaign in Gaza.