The "Seinfeld" character
with the bouffant 'do, Groucho Marx brows and long, lanky frame stood out even
among his fellow quirky characters. He brought us the jimmy legs, a literal
coffee table book and a propensity to slide, rather than stroll, into a room.
But it's been a while
since Kramer, or the actor who portrayed him, has invoked anything other than
anger, as far as I'm concerned. Call me stubborn, but I am still not over Michael
Richards' "n-word" meltdown in 2006.
I even considered
boycotting the upcoming fall season of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and rolled my
eyes at the photo of him on Entertainment Weekly's "Curb" cover this week.
Why
so serious?
Despite his subsequent apology
and excuse-making tour, I firmly believe that Richards revealed true racism in
his attack on black Laugh Factory patrons. He even referenced lynching at one
point in his tirade, eliminating any hope of explaining away his "n-word" usage
as an impromptu audition for a Tarantino film.
Even Richards didn't buy
his own b.s., and that's likely why he checked himself into pop purgatory, a
dismal dimension currently inhabited by Mel Gibson, Duane "Dog the Bounty
Hunter" Chapman, and "Grey's Anatomy" alum (and "f-word" utterer) Isaiah
Washington.
But unlike those other
shunned stars, pop culture may be ready for Richards' return, as evident in his
"Curb" gig and an informal poll of Kyles Files contributors.
A number of my official
pop pundits said we shouldn't block Richards' road to redemption. He's served
his time, a few reasoned.
"Everyone deserves a
second chance, regardless sometimes of how dumb, ignorant, racist, [bigoted] of
an action he or she might have taken," rapper and Englewood resident T-Y Green
e-mailed me.
Indie label head and
rapper Kidd Russell, too, said Richards erred big time, but deserves another
roll of the dice.
ChicagoNow staffer and breakingtweets.com
entertainment editor Shari Weiss said the actor never owed pop penance, period.
"[Celebrities] can live
and speak according to their own standards," Weiss, 22, e-mailed me. "There's
hardly any circumstance that should prevent someone from trying to have a
career and sustain a living."
I wouldn't take it quite
that far, but she and my other pop peeps have a point. I'm guessing he needs a
check, unless he's living off "The Michael Richards Show" residuals.
Besides,
forgiveness is more for the offended than the offender. It gives Richards too
much power if I continue to shun him, and frankly, I'd be sorry if I skipped
"Curb."
So I'll check out the
HBO show and resist the inevitable urge to change the channel whenever he
appears. Maybe I can even give syndicated "Seinfeld" another shot with one
notable exception: no deal on the over-tan episode during which Kramer is
mistaken for a black man. (See vid below)
Even the staunchest Richards-defenders should be cool
with that.
Isiah Washington got a job right after "Grey's Anatomy". Of course, that show ("Bionic Woman") was canceled after 5 episodes. I'd like to think that's karma.
I'm glad you're not going to boycott, "Curb". It's a very good show, and I think the only person to suffer if you did would be yourself.
Yep, I realized the same, Josh. But I cannot say I'll laugh as hard as I used to at his Kramer alter ego. Thanks for weighing in! And as you point out, that Washington job didn't last a hot second. Last I read of Mr. "Grey's Anatomy" dropout, he was getting foreclosed on. Karma is rough.
Hi Kyra, first I want to thank you for your extraordinary blogs! I completely identify with you and that is very rare in the blogs I read on the internet as a whole.
In response to this paragraph:
Call me stubborn, but I am still not over Michael Richards' "n-word" meltdown in 2006.
Despite his subsequent apology and excuse-making tour, I firmly believe that Richards revealed true racism in his attack on black Laugh Factory patrons. He even referenced lynching at one point in his tirade, eliminating any hope of explaining away his "n-word" usage as an impromptu audition for a Tarantino film.
My personal response: The Laugh Factory does not allow heckling from the audience. This is very disrespectful to the comedians which are like any other live performer, must work off the audience. Unfortunately, before we were able to inform or remove these patrons of our "no heckling" policy, Michael Richards attempt at heckling back became an attack on the black race on the whole. This is not acceptable in society much less on our stage.
Soon after, Damon Wayans attempted to ride the negative publicity wave by using the "n-word".
Now, comedians use negative stereotypes of race in their stand-up. It does not have the same connotation as it once did perhaps since these negative stereotypes don't carry the same weight as the of African-Americans mistreatment of their race through out American history. This, I believe, is not just racism but human error. No human should treat another human unethically and yet horrific torture is still a problem today.
If a comedian were to put down the human race as a whole, I believe that the general population would not take offense to it as much as attacking their specific birth heritage (especially if that comedian is not of their race).
Hi there, Den! I really appreciate your compliment and am delighted that you read this blog. I also appreciate you giving the comedic perspective. I understand that heckling is disrespectful, and that the patrons too were in the wrong if that is in the rule. I also agree though that his response was absolutely off the beaten path of decency. People write rude e-mails to me all the time and I do not respond with name-calling, even when I am called names. Though heckling is not allowed at LF, I'm sure Mr. Richards is familliar with the notion that some rude crowd members exist and might disrupt him. I in no way condone their actions, but I do think that what he did made them look like patron saints. I believe that there is a difference in making a joke about stereotypes and unleashing years of bitter, racist rage on a crowd...Mr. Richards obviously didn't realize he was living in YouTube nation. Now, he surely does. Thanks again, Den and I certainly hope you'll come back here and comment more often. You brought some great and different perspective to this controversy.
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4 Comments
Josh said:
Isiah Washington got a job right after "Grey's Anatomy". Of course, that show ("Bionic Woman") was canceled after 5 episodes. I'd like to think that's karma.
I'm glad you're not going to boycott, "Curb". It's a very good show, and I think the only person to suffer if you did would be yourself.
Kyra Kyles said:
Yep, I realized the same, Josh. But I cannot say I'll laugh as hard as I used to at his Kramer alter ego. Thanks for weighing in! And as you point out, that Washington job didn't last a hot second. Last I read of Mr. "Grey's Anatomy" dropout, he was getting foreclosed on. Karma is rough.
Den Nisi said:
Hi Kyra, first I want to thank you for your extraordinary blogs! I completely identify with you and that is very rare in the blogs I read on the internet as a whole.
In response to this paragraph:
Call me stubborn, but I am still not over Michael Richards' "n-word" meltdown in 2006.
Despite his subsequent apology and excuse-making tour, I firmly believe that Richards revealed true racism in his attack on black Laugh Factory patrons. He even referenced lynching at one point in his tirade, eliminating any hope of explaining away his "n-word" usage as an impromptu audition for a Tarantino film.
My personal response: The Laugh Factory does not allow heckling from the audience. This is very disrespectful to the comedians which are like any other live performer, must work off the audience. Unfortunately, before we were able to inform or remove these patrons of our "no heckling" policy, Michael Richards attempt at heckling back became an attack on the black race on the whole. This is not acceptable in society much less on our stage.
Soon after, Damon Wayans attempted to ride the negative publicity wave by using the "n-word".
Now, comedians use negative stereotypes of race in their stand-up. It does not have the same connotation as it once did perhaps since these negative stereotypes don't carry the same weight as the of African-Americans mistreatment of their race through out American history. This, I believe, is not just racism but human error. No human should treat another human unethically and yet horrific torture is still a problem today.
If a comedian were to put down the human race as a whole, I believe that the general population would not take offense to it as much as attacking their specific birth heritage (especially if that comedian is not of their race).
Thanks again Kyra!
Den of the Laugh Factory
Kyra Kyles said:
Hi there, Den! I really appreciate your compliment and am delighted that you read this blog. I also appreciate you giving the comedic perspective. I understand that heckling is disrespectful, and that the patrons too were in the wrong if that is in the rule. I also agree though that his response was absolutely off the beaten path of decency. People write rude e-mails to me all the time and I do not respond with name-calling, even when I am called names. Though heckling is not allowed at LF, I'm sure Mr. Richards is familliar with the notion that some rude crowd members exist and might disrupt him. I in no way condone their actions, but I do think that what he did made them look like patron saints. I believe that there is a difference in making a joke about stereotypes and unleashing years of bitter, racist rage on a crowd...Mr. Richards obviously didn't realize he was living in YouTube nation. Now, he surely does. Thanks again, Den and I certainly hope you'll come back here and comment more often. You brought some great and different perspective to this controversy.
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