News | Entertainment
10 Jan 2026 1:01
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."

    © 2026 Bang Showbiz, NZCity

     Other Entertainment News
     09 Jan: Gordon Ramsay was a "hot mess" before making his father-of-the-bride speech at his daughter Holly Ramsay's wedding
     09 Jan: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, will reportedly release a cookbook this year
     09 Jan: Kelly Brook refused to move house because her dad's ashes were scattered in her garden
     09 Jan: Leonardo DiCaprio is worried people no longer have an "appetite" for cinema
     09 Jan: Jesy Nelson's ex-boyfriend Chris Hughes has branded her a "warrior" after she revealed her eight-month-old twin daughters have been diagnosed with a rare genetic condition
     09 Jan: Nicola Peltz Beckham has celebrated her "best birthday yet"
     09 Jan: Henry Winkler believes retirement would be "deadly"
     Top Stories

    RUGBY RUGBY
    Kiwi Ben Robb will be throwing stress-free at the professional darts tour qualifying school in Germany starting overnight More...


    BUSINESS BUSINESS
    Expectations Auckland's housing market will keep heating up this year More...



     Today's News

    International:
    One person's dead and 38 missing after a mountain of garbage toppled in the Philippines 21:56

    Entertainment:
    Gordon Ramsay was a "hot mess" before making his father-of-the-bride speech at his daughter Holly Ramsay's wedding 21:53

    Entertainment:
    Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, will reportedly release a cookbook this year 21:23

    Environment:
    The remaining pilot whales stranded at Farewell Spit have been refloated 21:16

    Entertainment:
    Kelly Brook refused to move house because her dad's ashes were scattered in her garden 20:53

    Entertainment:
    Leonardo DiCaprio is worried people no longer have an "appetite" for cinema 20:23

    Entertainment:
    Jesy Nelson's ex-boyfriend Chris Hughes has branded her a "warrior" after she revealed her eight-month-old twin daughters have been diagnosed with a rare genetic condition 19:53

    Entertainment:
    Nicola Peltz Beckham has celebrated her "best birthday yet" 19:23

    Cricket:
    The Wellington Blaze have claimed a six wicket win over lower-South Island's Sparks in the women's Super Smash T20 competition at the Basin Reserve 18:57

    Entertainment:
    Henry Winkler believes retirement would be "deadly" 18:53


     News Search






    Power Search


    © 2026 New Zealand City Ltd