MICHAEL RICHARDS ON RACIST TIRADE: 'I WAS FRUSTRATED WITH MYSELF'
Michael Richards, who played Seinfeld's beloved Cosmo Kramer in the hit 90s TV show, wants you to know he's learned his lesson.
In 2006, Richards hurled racial slurs, including the n-word, at hecklers in the audience during a standup routine at the Laugh Factory. His outburst made him an outcast and effectively put an end to his standup career.
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In a new interview with TIME magazine, the former Seinfeld star has opened up about the incident and the life that followed it.
“I wasn’t getting much work before the incident, which was one of the reasons I was ding-donging around in those clubs late at night, unannounced -- coming in and working on material," Richards told TIME. "I thought I would try to reinvent myself.”
We all know how well that went.
When asked about the reason behind his outburst, he confessed, "[I was] angry at the act, angry that it wasn’t funny, angry that I was being interrupted, angry that I’m not as good as I would like to be.
“You know, I was frustrated that night, and so I turned on everybody.”
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So is he at risk of offending again?
"What happened in the club? Oh, that’ll never happen again. I know how to behave, to consciously behave."
“When something like that comes up, I don’t let the heat of anger burn me up as it did," Richards explained. "When you’re under the helm of anger, watch out, ’cause it’ll take you down. It’s like being possessed by a demon.”
In the wake of the devastating incident, Richards turned to "personal work" as a way to move forward.
"I wanted to see more about the man I am, and that meant being apart again from show business,” he said. “I took a deep look at this and thought, Yes, we all make mistakes, but let’s go further and see more about me.”
He recalls, “I moved away from Los Angeles. I took up photography, a lot of reading, a lot of writing. I traveled a bit. I got more in tune with my family. I began to take care of my mother, and still do, and that was helpful.”
