Michael Richards' "Seinfield" fame seemed so long ago. The fame grew longer still after his infamous tirade at Hollywood's Laugh Factory. Apparently, he became frustrated during his stand-up routine by hecklers. The hecklers happened to be African-American. Richards erupted into a profane tirade and uttered the word "nigger" throughout his rant. Of course, he cleared out the room like he lit a stink bomb. But, the incident blew up whatever career he had left.
Black and white audience members expressed anger. Celebrities, such as Al Sharpton called for Richards to make a public apology. However, apologies made under duress or coercion carry little weight. A few days later, the embarrassed Seinfeld reject apologized for his words and actions.
I, for one, decided to quit watching Seinfeld reruns. Richards never wanted to apologize for doing wrong. He apologized for the benefit of his career. He substituted financial gain for remorse. That measure made him a pretentious jerk in my book! During his tirade, he bragged about being "rich" and being able to "buy and sell anyone in audience". In addition, he made references to "picking cotton" and other racial ephithets. The "nigger" defamations just attracted beat writers near the scene.
Richards grew up in the Jewish faith. No doubt, he endured prejudice in his life. But, he didn't rise above his less intelligent, tormentors. Because of one bad show, he morphed back to his past. He became the tormentor, not the victim. In my opinion, his actions garnered more pity for him than anger. Before our eyes, an Emmy-winning actor's career came crashing down, like an imploding warehouse. He put his own reputation to torch.
Richards, Don Imus and Mel Gibson have become "idiot celebrities" through their mistakes. They never deserved being defined as racists. Being a "racist" carried an illusion of grandeur to it. Imperial Grand Wizard and prison inmate, Sam Bowers lived his life as a racist. He motivated others to be racists. He motivated others to commit serious crimes on innocent people. Being a racist meant that person exuded some sort of influence. Richards never influenced me. He failed to motivate himself on resurrecting his post-Seinfeld fame.
He witnessed his peers, Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander, Doris Roberts, Jerry Stiller and Julia Louis-Dreyfus continue their careers. All of them maintained being relevant in Hollywood. He stopped being relevant when the curtains fell. When he became irrelevant, he stopped being a good citizen.