‘NOT A RACIST’

Michael Richards Will Address ‘N-Word’ Incident in New Memoir

The “Seinfeld” actor said he’s not “looking for a comeback,” after his racist rant in 2006 drove him out of public life.

Michael Richards is ready to talk about that rant. In his new memoir, the Seinfeld actor told People he will address the 2006 incident in which he was caught on camera throwing around the n-word as he was heckled on stage for his stand-up. As that footage was circulated, Richards left public life for 18 years. Now emerging to promote his new memoir, Entrances and Exits, Richards told People, “I was immediately sorry the moment I said it onstage,” but acknowledged that the words he spewed can’t be unheard. He’s not “looking for a comeback,” though, even as “crisis managers wanted me to do damage control,” he said he was unable to do that because “the damage is inside me.” As for the rant itself, Richards addressed it this way: “I’m not racist. I have nothing against Black people. The man who told me I wasn’t funny had just said what I’d been saying to myself for a while. I felt put down. I wanted to put him down.” Richards added that he’s since learned from looking inward, “Anger is quite a force,” so “rather than run from it, I dove into the deep end and tried to learn from it.”