Michael Richards Talks ‘Canceling’ Himself After 2006 Racist Rant

In his first interview after many years, “Seinfeld” star Michael Richards has opened up about his racist remarks from 2006. The actor and comedian talked about the incident and how it has changed him. Richards said he is “more aware” of himself and has worked on his anger issues.

The actor previously claimed that during the racist rant, he was “in character” and was used to using the N-word from his comedy club environment. The comedian also recently revealed that his anger and insecurities were caused by his childhood with a single mom who wanted an abortion.

Seinfeld star and comedian Richards recently appeared on the “Today” show for his first TV interview in years. During his interview with host Hoda Kotb, Richards spoke about his upcoming memoir, “Entrances and Exits,” which revolves around his “Seinfeld” gossip and the racist offense that ended his career.

The incident was when Richards was filmed shouting the N-word at a member of the audience at the Laugh Factory in 2006.

According to the DailyBeast, Kotb started the conversation by saying, “We should just get this part, I think, out of the way because the reason that you have been out of the spotlight was because of something that happened back in 2006, and it happened at a comedy club.”

The host further said the incident became known as a “big racist rant,” which caused Richards to disappear from the industry. As she spoke, the comedian squeezed his eyes close and kept quiet. Kotb then asked Richards how the racist outburst had changed him since that incident.

In response to Kotb’s question, Richards said that the incident has made him “more aware” of himself and his anger.

The actor said that he has worked hard on his anger issues, and it is no longer “as horrible as it was 18 years ago,” adding that “Anger had a hold of me.”

He noted, “I canceled myself out. Take an exodus. Get away from show business and see what the heck is going on inside me to have been so despicable that night, losing my cool and hurting people.”

Kotb further asked Richards if he thought he had made amends for his racist actions, and he responded positively.

He said, “Certainly getting to a place where I could forgive myself because I have to move on and be true blue about that.”

During a Tuesday appearance on “The View,” Richards spoke about his upcoming memoir and the infamous incident.

The comedian explained that he was “in character” during the incident and used the N-word because he was used to it in his “comedy club environment.”

He said, “Now, first, I must say, look, I’m not a normal man. There’s a lot of eccentricity going on in my kind of comedy and, certainly, I could never have created a character like Kramer without being slightly touched, so I went into character. And I work in a comedy club environment where the N-word is used a lot, and I decided I would let it loose.”

At that point, panelist and comedian Joy Behar interjected to state that the N-word is “not used anymore” in comedy scenes and that “those days are over” for the industry. Then Richards responded, “For me, they certainly are.”

While speaking with People Magazine, Richards said that his anger issues and insecurities were borne from being raised by a single mom who wanted an abortion. However, she was unable to get it due to the danger and mortality of the procedure at the time.

During his appearance on “The View,” the actor stated that his issues with anger are still present in his life today.

He said, “It doesn’t go away. It’s the color of my fur. I went personal, personal, then I started seeing it collectively, and the rage behind the wars, and I’m there in a club making war on my fellow man. Those were big considerations for me after that.”

In his chat with People, Richards revealed exactly how he felt after he made the offensive remarks in 2006. The actor hurled the N-word, amongst other slurs, at hecklers during a stand-up show.

“I was immediately sorry the moment I said it onstage. I’m not looking for a comeback,” the comedian told the news outlet.

“My anger was all over the place and it came through hard and fast,” Richards continued. “Anger is quite a force. But it happened. Rather than run from it, I dove into the deep end and tried to learn from it. It hasn’t been easy.”

He further noted, “Crisis managers wanted me to do damage control. But as far as I was concerned, the damage was inside of me.”

Richards’ upcoming memoir covers more topics than just the night he made the racist remark that ended his career. He also wrote about his childhood under a single mother, the trauma caused by his father, his experience in the army, his fame after the role of Cosmo Kramer, and his struggles as a celebrity.