Current Events > Michael Richards' apology for dropping the n-bomb is amusing.

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://youtu.be/IwBoVZh1ruQ?t=58

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Jerry freaking out about people laughing will never not obliterate my sides

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ultimate reaver posted...

Jerry freaking out about people laughing will never not obliterate my sides

"Afro-Americans" did it for me.

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I remember when his racist rant happened, and how there were posters on this board saying how it wasn't actually racist, that it was a "nuanced" issue.

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I never actually seen this. I only heard the snippets on Wale's mixtape 100 times. From my perspective he didn't seem to have it worked out yet. There was a willingness to learn but also still an arrogance and a lot of ignorance. A few times it was almost like he was trying to become the victim of the situation. And that's always gonna be bad in an apology. Also, claiming you're not a racist after that isn't the move. Something made you go there and you need to face that reality to truly be sorry and become a better person.

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I remember the apology

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Still working?

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He should have done it on Oprah or something. Not a comedy show.

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Shadowplay posted...

"Afro-Americans" did it for me.

he really is kramer

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g0ldie posted...

I remember when his racist rant happened, and how there were posters on this board saying how it wasn't actually racist, that it was a "nuanced" issue.

I think there is some nuance but he's still racist.

A lot of people said it was him showing his true colors, and saying the things that he really felt but was afraid to say when he was being recorded. It's not that. It's a bit he was doing, a bit he had tried multiple nights with different ethnicities, where he did his impression of a raging bigot. He had done it with other races and ethnicities too. It was never funny, it always made the audience uncomfortable, but he kept doing it thinking he could break through and be the next edgy Andy Kaufman or something.

It's racist, but not in the sense that he hates black people. Rather in the sense that he doesn't get black people, or racism, and thinks he's entitled to always get the benefit of the doubt on everything. His apology afterwards just made this even more obvious.

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Lol it was pretty hilarious I'll never get tired of it XD

I've always hated Kramer as the whole goofy annoying character on that show, but after Michael Richards racist rant I actually retroactively find the character hilarious especially since I always got racist vibes from him (especially obvious for those of us who watched Seinfeld) so it adds an extra layer knowing I was right.

Anyway no joking aside, "people at their worst reveal who they really are" so...
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He basically walked it back in 2012 on Seinfeld's talk show. Blaming it on a selfish response to heckling. If you actually watch the standup it's blatantly obvious he is racist and even references how dumb the audience is for being shocked by what is buried beneath. Dude is a racist, but got caught and used his connections to get a prime time apology. Thankfully he never got major work again after that.

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g0ldie posted...

I remember when his racist rant happened, and how there were posters on this board saying how it wasn't actually racist, that it was a "nuanced" issue.

They clearly didn't watch it. It's so much worse than him just dropping an N bomb. There was clearly some latent built up rage behind that and he went on for a good while. If anything I feel like the media downplayed just how wildly over the top and from the heart it really was.

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action52 posted...

I think there is some nuance but he's still racist.

A lot of people said it was him showing his true colors, and saying the things that he really felt but was afraid to say when he was being recorded. It's not that. It's a bit he was doing, a bit he had tried multiple nights with different ethnicities, where he did his impression of a raging bigot. He had done it with other races and ethnicities too. It was never funny, it always made the audience uncomfortable, but he kept doing it thinking he could break through and be the next edgy Andy Kaufman or something.

It's racist, but not in the sense that he hates black people. Rather in the sense that he doesn't get black people, or racism, and thinks he's entitled to always get the benefit of the doubt on everything. His apology afterwards just made this even more obvious.

So in your version of reality, the hecklers were just pure coincidence? Lol

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action52 posted...

I think there is some nuance but he's still racist.

A lot of people said it was him showing his true colors, and saying the things that he really felt but was afraid to say when he was being recorded. It's not that. It's a bit he was doing, a bit he had tried multiple nights with different ethnicities, where he did his impression of a raging bigot. He had done it with other races and ethnicities too. It was never funny, it always made the audience uncomfortable, but he kept doing it thinking he could break through and be the next edgy Andy Kaufman or something.

It's racist, but not in the sense that he hates black people. Rather in the sense that he doesn't get black people, or racism, and thinks he's entitled to always get the benefit of the doubt on everything. His apology afterwards just made this even more obvious.

iirc, I remember the guy he called the N-word saying how Kramer started his set criticizing Mexican people, and when the guy said he wasn't funny, that's when the rant started.

but I disagree that his racism wasn't coming from a hateful place - dude was actually referencing lynchings on top of using the N-word.

even with the most ardent racists, those kinda outbursts aren't common.

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ssjevot posted...

He basically walked it back in 2012 on Seinfeld's talk show. Blaming it on a selfish response to heckling. If you actually watch the standup it's blatantly obvious he is racist and even references how dumb the audience is for being shocked by what is buried beneath. Dude is a racist, but got caught and used his connections to get a prime time apology. Thankfully he never got major work again after that.

Not really much to be thankful though considering he probably gets millions in royalties from Seinfield and never has to work, while less privileged people are consistently marginalized and suffering.
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Lost_All_Senses posted...

So in your version of reality, the hecklers were just pure coincidence? Lol

What? No, not at all.

g0ldie posted...

but I disagree that his racism wasn't coming from a hateful place - dude was actually referencing lynchings on top of using the N-word.

even with the most ardent racists, those kinda outbursts aren't common.

No, that was a deliberate choice he was making. In fact he was going over the top with it. He was being worse than even the most virulent racists because the idea was to be a hateful person. It was edgy black humor.

You know how sometimes Andy Kaufman would act like a nasty, horrible person, often offensive (like how he would say horribly misogynistic things to goad women into wrestling him)... Even Andy took things too far a lot of the time if you ask me, and it made people feel really shitty at the time. But there are a lot of comics who see that, and think if they do that and take it to the next level, they can be seen as edgy geniuses the way a lot of people saw Andy as one.

I do think he enjoyed himself, in the perverse way an actor might enjoy playing a serial killer, or a murderous N-word throwing racist in a Quentin Tarantino movie.

And he thought everyone would "get it" because he has no empathy. As a white guy who has never lived with racism, he can hear horribly racist things and just laugh at how fucked up they are. It's easy if you're a white person who has always been surrounded by other white people who never have serious thoughts or discussion about race. None of that seems real to you, so you can just laugh at it. And he assumes everyone else will be able to laugh too. He doesn't understand, and he probably never really will understand. I doubt he'll ever even try to understand. Deep down he obviously still thinks people were too sensitive and everyone would forgive him if they knew he was "just joking" and would never want to actually do violence to a black person.

I don't think he hates black people, just that he's never cared enough to really think about their humanity. He has never cared enough to really think about race. He just has a shallow "racism is bad but I'm kit going to think about how it's ingrained into our society" perspective on race that was maybe moderately progressive for a white guy when he was a kid in the 70s, and has stayed there. He never grew or moved on from that, and probably never will.

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i don't know i don't know!

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@ post 17 - again, I've got to disagree.

you could tell towards the end of his rant, Kramer had gone overboard and said stuff that he didn't mean to.

it's been a while since I've heard that rant, but I remember him saying stuff like "shocking" as if it was an attempt to dull what he was saying.

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ah yes, i remember this whole fiasco like it was yesterday...

i was shaking my head in disapproval like "why u do this Kramer?"

g0ldie posted...

you could tell towards the end of his rant, Kramer had gone overboard and said stuff that he didn't mean to.

it's been a while since I've heard that rant, but I remember him saying stuff like "shocking" as if it was an attempt to dull what he was saying.

Yeah, he got carried away and took things too far. He could tell things had gone south and the audience was turning on him. That happens a lot when comics are trying out new material.

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g0ldie posted...

@ post 17 - again, I've got to disagree.

you could tell towards the end of his rant, Kramer had gone overboard and said stuff that he didn't mean to.

it's been a while since I've heard that rant, but I remember him saying stuff like "shocking" as if it was an attempt to dull what he was saying.

I ought to watch the clip again. I remember him saying something like "you know what we used to do to you people".

I understand the timing. Seinfeld just happened to be booked for Letterman around the same time, but that was not the time nor place for this. This made it worse.

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action52 posted...

Yeah, he got carried away and took things too far. He could tell things had gone south and the audience was turning on him. That happens a lot when comics are trying out new material.

If you get carried away and all of a sudden become racist...maybe you need to look deep into yourself. Ive gotten carried away on arguments before and never turned racist. Ive said things I didnt mean but my go to was never racial attacks. You dont just suddenly become racist because youre mad. And Im not even saying 100% that Kramer is a full on racist, but he clearly harbors some internal feelings about African Americans, comedian or not. Talking about hanging black people in anger isnt a joke or an accident.

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I remember watching this live. I never really watched Letterman, it just happened to be on, and since Seinfeld was a guest, I wanted to watch that interview.

The racist rant wasnt something known to the masses yet and I remember being confused about what the hell was going on. I think I only learned about the rant weeks later.

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Despite everything, at least there was some sort of good that came from the whole thing with Curb Your Enthusiasm playing off it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktZde2tEK1Y

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It's been awhile since I heard the full Kramer rant. Unless the whole thing is on Wale's mixtape too. It's obvious why I'm not posting the song >_>. Not sure how mods go about it when it's using the person as an example.

I do know the type of person @action52 is talking about tho. That's definitely a real profile. But I think it's impossible to tell how deep racism in someone who uses that type humor is. Humor is used to disguise so many things.


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Jerry angrily telling the audience to stop laughing is one of the funniest things I've ever seen

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Doom_Art posted...

Jerry angrily telling the audience to stop laughing is one of the funniest things I've ever seen

He did sound like a 3rd grader defending his friend.

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action52 posted...

Yeah, he got carried away and took things too far. He could tell things had gone south and the audience was turning on him. That happens a lot when comics are trying out new material.

ah yes, new material that consists only of calling people the N-word and lynchings.

I'm sure that there's an audience for it, but that wasn't the right one.

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Guy said some fucked up stuff 15 years ago and has seemed genuinely remorseful ever since.

I'm not defending what he said at the laugh factory way back when but people act like the guy was child molestor or serial rapist/murderer that can never be worthy of redemption. It's a little silly and heavy handed at this point

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This was so weird to watch live because the footage hadn't even been released yet. They found out TMZ had it, and tried to do damage control before they showed it. It's no wonder how me and everyone thought this was a bit.

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Conflict posted...

Nothing indicates he was genuinely remorseful lol

He's apologized about it and made fun of himself on curb your enthusiasm.

What exacly would he need to do to show genuine remorse?

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Solid Snake07 posted...

He's apologized about it and made fun of himself on curb your enthusiasm.

What exacly would he need to do to show genuine remorse?

IIRC you have to kiss Jesse Jackson's ass like Randy did

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^ I skimmed the topic, and while people have (accurately) talked about how racist what he said was, I didn't see anything about condemning him for the rest of his life for it

edit: at post 34

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Solid Snake07 posted...

He's apologized about it and made fun of himself on curb your enthusiasm.

What exacly would he need to do to show genuine remorse?

Ahhh yes. Making another joke about your racist rant shows real remorse lol. Im not saying he wasnt genuine in the apology, but using curb your enthusiasm as a reason hes remorseful is kinda dumb, dude.

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Its painfully awkward imo. The audience laughing makes me cringe, and they keep laughing after Jerry tells them to stop.
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Lost_All_Senses posted...

I do know the type of person @action52 is talking about tho. That's definitely a real profile. But I think it's impossible to tell how deep racism in someone who uses that type humor is. Humor is used to disguise so many things.

Well there's no way to be 100% sure I guess, but usually when someone is THAT racist, they can't keep it to just one outburst. But I haven't seen anything about him acting that way before or after. I mean, let's be real, the post 2016 atmosphere would have been the perfect time for him to take the mask off. He probably could have boosted his career. But he hasn't, so I find it much more likely that he's not a white hooded cross burning type of racist, but rather a run-of-the-mill banal white dude kind of racist.

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Conflict posted...

Nothing indicates he was genuinely remorseful lol

This is why public apologies are so bullshit

No matter what you say, the outrage crowd are never satisfied because the apology isn't "good enough."

And then they wonder why most celebs don't bother

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UnfairRepresent posted...

This is why public apologies are so bullshit

No matter what you say, the outrage crowd are never satisfied because the apology isn't "good enough."

And then they wonder why most celebs don't bother

Plenty of celebrities have apologized and then been forgiven. He apologized on a late night comedy show and then went on to make a joke about it on another show. Not exactly the best of looks for him. They botched his initial apology. Doing it randomly on Letterman was a terrible idea.

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Conflict posted...

People ITT already touched on why the apology doesn't come off as genuine

People in the wrestling community still talk a lot about Austin beating his wife but the difference is Austin actually strove to become a better person since then

If you say so

The woman he beat the fuck out of doesn't agree and said he lied to her about wanting to change his ways, then dumped her the moment after she pleaded for the punishment to be lenient.

Then he got Roddy Piper thrown off the air for mentioning this in a bit. Then Piper died right after and Austin never apologized and doubled down on how no one is allowed to make fun of him.

Austin is a giant asshole. He's just popular, that's why they forgive him.

For the record to this day Austin has never actually admitted to beating up his wife, let alone apologized. He plead no contest then begged her to get the police to be lenient

Then dumped her and stared in a movie where he plays a woman beater ...

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So many people are just completely oblivious to the fact that he was attempting to do edgy shock-comedy to mock a heckler, and failed miserably.

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TheVipaGTS posted...

Ahhh yes. Making another joke about your racist rant shows real remorse lol. Im not saying he wasnt genuine in the apology, but using curb your enthusiasm as a reason hes remorseful is kinda dumb, dude.

Being able/willing to publicly poke fun at yourself for your biggest public fuck up of your life that you'll never be able to live down is a pretty big move imo. I don't think most people would ever be capable of that even if they are genuinly remorseful.

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radical rhino posted...

So many people are just completely oblivious to the fact that he was attempting to do edgy shock-comedy to mock a heckler, and failed miserably.

I've seen a lot of apologism like this after the racist rant

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UnfairRepresent posted...

This is why public apologies are so bullshit

No matter what you say, the outrage crowd are never satisfied because the apology isn't "good enough."

And then they wonder why most celebs don't bother

I think Chris D'elia is gross, but his apology seemed more genuine than anyone elses. It didn't feel like it was just trying to manipulate me to be on his side again. Kramer's does. Like I said, there's a few times he tries to make himself the victim of a much bigger thing. Which he kind of is, but at the same time, you gotta leave and work on yourself if you actually care to change that. He on the other hand, cared more about trying to keep his career going immediately after. Which if he was allowed to that night, would just make him learn that he can fuck up, be racist and have next to no penalty.

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Lol

Yes it is

https://youtu.be/etjTZVTMrNY

Beat her for months.

Ran off when she finally called the police

Begged her for weeks to tell the court to lessen the charges , and that they'll fix everything and be together

She believes him and does

2nd day after the court hearing he divorced her and tells her to fuck off.

To this day hasn't apologized or admitted to it and goes after anyone who mentions it

But thanks for proving my point

The actual apology is meaningless. people wanting to be outraged will be outraged and people who like the guy will make excuses and be apologists who deny reality to cheerlead them

You've demonstrated both inside 5 minutes

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Chappelle had a funny bit about him.

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