Michael Richards
| Michael Richards |
|---|
|
| Original YTMND: Kramer may be a racist... |
| by DIGIHAD |
| November 20, 2006 |
| Worthy spinoffs: |
Michael Richards is an actor/stand-up comic best known for his role in the hit NBC sitcom Seinfeld as Cosmo Kramer. During the weekend of November 19th, 2006, Richards lost his temper on stage at the Laugh Factory. He was at the comedy club trying to do his act when started to get bothered by an African-American heckler. Richards called the heckler a "nigger" several times. This trash talk was the cause of much controversy in the popular media.
Moments after a video emerged on YouTube, YTMNDers quickly took advantage and made a fad very quickly, many of them racial of nature. While many of them worked by putting Richards' comments into the context of his Seinfeld character (Kramer Kills Negroes!, Cause of Kramer's Racism), a few others made reference to his role in the film UHF as Stanley Spadowski (Stanley Spudowski's Clubhouse, Racist Michael Richards and his firehose). Other sites recontextualized his comments altogether for humourous effect (such as Meatwad's Kramer Comedy Act Tribute).
Richards would apologise for his actions in an interview via satellite with David Letterman (his longtime friend Jerry Seinfeld was Letterman's in-studio guest). Many people in the audience laughed for brief moments during the interview before being cautioned to stop by Seinfeld. The apology itself served as another resource for YTMND, both on its own (It's insane, he's not even racist!) and in combination with his original remarks (kkkramer).
It could be noted that Micheal Richard's character, Kramer, has already been the subject of various and high rated sites before the racial incident, including Kramer Belts out a Face Melter, Kramer Takes The Morning Train, and Doug Vs Kramer: Final Conflict.
It can also be noted that he is the only celebrity who made a racial slur that become a major YTMND fad. While celebrities like Mel Gibson, Don Imus, and Dog The Bounty Hunter, who also made racial slurs, have only a couple of sites about them, but never made any big contribute to YTMND like Richards.
In 2010, Michael Richard guested on an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, poking fun at the incident. In the scene in question, he says to an African-American "If only there were a horrible name I could call you that would make you as angry as I am". This scene was quickly made into a site.
