“Seinfeld” co-star
Michael Richards will personally apologize to three black men and a black woman he offended in a torrent of racial slurs unleashed during a recent nightclub performance, his spokesman said on Friday.
“Since this happened, this is what Michael has wanted to do — get in the room and apologize in person to the recipients of his unfortunate remarks,” spokesman Chris Giglio said.
An attorney for the four, Gloria Allred, said Richards has agreed to meet her clients along with a retired judge who will serve as a mediator in recommending any further action. The retired judge has not been selected, and Allred said the meeting is likely to take place in January.
Richards, best known for playing the wacky character Kramer for nine years on the NBC smash hit “Seinfeld,” might be asked to make a cash payment to the four, but that has yet to be determined, Allred said.
“They (her clients) will be telling him (Richards) about the pain they suffered” as a result of the racial epithets, Allred said during a press conference Friday.
Richards, 57, sparked a public outcry for spewing a torrent of racial slurs at hecklers during his stand-up act at the Laugh Factor comedy club in Hollywood on November 17. The incident was captured in digital camera video footage that was widely circulated on the Internet and was broadcast on TV newscasts three days later.
“I am very happy that Mr. Richards has agreed to meet with me and my friends so that we can tell him how his words made us feel and that he can apologize to us,” said Kyle Doss, 26, one of Allred’s clients.
Allred said her clients were among a large mixed-race birthday party of 23 individuals and were the only blacks at the large table of friends.
After exchanges between Richards and audience members sitting at a table on the upper level of the comedy club, Richards launched into a series of racial epithets, and used “the ‘N-word”‘ as many as 10 times, she said.
The following Monday, Richards issued a public apology during an appearance with
Jerry Seinfeld on the CBS “Late Show with David Letterman,” saying he had lost his temper on stage.
Since then, Richards also has appeared on the radio show hosted by civil rights activist the Rev.
Jesse Jackson, “Keep Hope Alive,” to make a similar apology.
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