News | Entertainment
12 Dec 2025 7:23
NZCity News
NZCity CalculatorReturn to NZCity

  • Start Page
  • Personalise
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • Finance
  • Shopping
  • Jobs
  • Horoscopes
  • Lotto Results
  • Photo Gallery
  • Site Gallery
  • TVNow
  • Dating
  • SearchNZ
  • NZSearch
  • Crime.co.nz
  • RugbyLeague
  • Make Home
  • About NZCity
  • Contact NZCity
  • Your Privacy
  • Advertising
  • Login
  • Join for Free

  •   Home > News > Entertainment

    Michael Richards could have his Laugh Factory comedy club ban lifted years after his infamous racist rant at the venue

    The 'Seinfeld' actor, 74, who made a fortune and was skyrocketed to global fame playing Kramer on the hit comedy sitcom was filmed unleashing a tirade of racial slurs during a stand-up show at the spot in Los Angeles in 2006


    It led to the actor being barred from the club for life, but owner Jamie Masada has now said he might allow him back - if he has learned "the error of his ways".

    Jamie told TMA he "believes in second chances and doesn't want to hold a grudge".

    But the outlet reported Michael - who has just published his memoir 'Entrances and Exits' - is not looking to use the book to make a return to the limelight in stand-up shows, TV or with promotional appearances to promote the memoir.

    TMZ said Jamie says he was at the club the night Michael let rip with his racial slurs, and questioned Michael's take on what happened.

    The actor says in his book he over-reacted when a heckler told him he "wasn't funny".

    But according to TMZ, Jamie says there were no proactive heckles.

    He says a group of guests were talking during Michael's set and only when he demanded to know what they were talking about did one reply with the put-down he wasn't funny.

    Michael says in his book at the time of the incident he was still hurting from the failure of his post-'Seinfeld' sitcom 'The Michael Richards Show' - which lasted only eight episodes in 2000.

    He adds in the autobiography he heard talking coming from the balcony before he exploded in rage, and yelled: "Shut the f*** up!" - to the delight of the audience.

    Michael says he then heard someone from the balcony call out: "You're not funny. We don't think you're very funny!"

    Michael admitted he took the insult "pretty hard" and called it a "solid punch below the belt".

    He swerves detailing exactly what he said during his tirade - which featured him shouting into the audience: "Fifty years ago we'd have you upside down with a f****** fork up your ass" before calling one of his hecklers the n- word.

    Michael says in his book: "Of course, looking back at all, I wish I had just agreed with (my heckler.)

    "He went low and I went even lower. We both ended up at the bottom of the barrel."

    Michael added the words "You're not funny" kept running through his mind at the time of the incident, saying: "He laid it out so clearly, so simply, my biggest fear - not being funny.

    "Later, I'll come to realise that all of this, everything he said, is me. His voice is my voice. This is all ME going on. My inferiority sets in. My anger erupts."

    © 2025 Bang Showbiz, NZCity

     Other Entertainment News
     12 Dec: Gwyneth Paltrow's daughter thought she was "bad-a**" for kissing Timothee Chalamet in Marty Supreme
     12 Dec: Harry Potter's Tom Felton cannot believe he still has hair after bleaching it hundreds of times to play Draco Malfoy
     11 Dec: Martha Stewart buries her dead hoses in "clean linen sheets" on her property
     11 Dec: Billy Zane's mom has died at the age of 95
     11 Dec: George Clooney's daughter "rolls her eyes" at him
     11 Dec: Brigitte Bardot was saved "by a miracle" after attempting suicide
     11 Dec: Gillian Anderson's iconic vulva-covered gown was reproduced for her Madame Tussauds wax figure
     Top Stories

    RUGBY RUGBY
    Departing winger Sevu Reece has no doubt the Crusaders and All Blacks will thrive in his absence More...


    BUSINESS BUSINESS
    Swings and roundabouts for the dairy sector - with prices set to weaken More...



     Today's News

    Business:
    Swings and roundabouts for the dairy sector - with prices set to weaken 7:17

    Law and Order:
    Amnesty International report finds Hamas committed crimes against humanity with October 7 attacks 7:07

    Business:
    Dairy farmers are being warned they'll be taking a cut in earnings, due to falling global dairy prices 7:06

    Entertainment:
    Gwyneth Paltrow's daughter thought she was "bad-a**" for kissing Timothee Chalamet in Marty Supreme 6:50

    Entertainment:
    Harry Potter's Tom Felton cannot believe he still has hair after bleaching it hundreds of times to play Draco Malfoy 6:20

    Law and Order:
    Police are investigating an unexplained death in West Auckland's Ranui 4:46

    Entertainment:
    Martha Stewart buries her dead hoses in "clean linen sheets" on her property 21:50

    Entertainment:
    Billy Zane's mom has died at the age of 95 21:20

    Law and Order:
    A Police watchdog report finds officers in Hawke's Bay unlawfully entered a house this year and used unjustified force to arrest a man breaching bail 21:17

    Entertainment:
    George Clooney's daughter "rolls her eyes" at him 20:50


     News Search






    Power Search


    © 2025 New Zealand City Ltd