Richards still sorry, goes into therapy

 

 

Richards still sorry, goes into therapy

The Associated PressComedian Michael Richards, best known for playing Jerry Seinfeld's eccentric neighbor Kramer on Seinfeld, stunned the audience at the Laugh Factory in West Hollywood, Calif., by shouting racial epithets at people who heckled him during the standup routine

Michael Richards' mea culpa tour continued Sunday with a stop on Jesse Jackson's syndicated radio show, where the Seinfeld comedian said he had never used the racist language he uttered when lashing out Nov. 17 at hecklers.

"That's why I'm shattered by it. The way this came through me was like a freight train," Richards said.

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The actor was caught on video yelling racial slurs at audience members at the Laugh Factory in West Hollywood. "After it was over, when I went to look for them, they had gone. And I've tried to meet them, to talk to them, to get some healing," Richards told Jackson.

Richards' spokesman Howard Rubenstein said Saturday the actor has begun psychiatric counseling. "He acknowledged that his statements were harmful and opened a terrible racial wound in our nation."

His apology on Nov. 20 on CBS' Late Show helped the program to its highest overnight ratings among top markets in nearly a year.

Richards appeared on The Late Show via satellite during a visit by his friend and scheduled guest Jerry Seinfeld. In a rambling interview, Richards told Letterman, "There's a great deal of disturbance in this country and how blacks feel about what happened in Katrina, and, you know, many of the comics ... are in Las Vegas and New Orleans trying to raise money for what happened there, and for this to happen, for me to be in a comedy club and flip out ... you know, I'm deeply, deeply sorry."

From wire reports

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