News | Entertainment
18 Sep 2025 13:05
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
     18 Sep: Mel B "didn't expect any" of her Spice Girls bandmates to attend her double wedding
     18 Sep: Nick Cannon became a father to 12 children because he was "careless" and should have taken more time to heal from the "trauma" of his divorce
     18 Sep: Pedro Pascal's sister Lux "empowers" him during existential crises about his age
     18 Sep: Jacob Elordi has rekindled his romance with Olivia Jade Giannulli
     18 Sep: Danielle Fishel is developing some "routines" to cope with the demands of Dancing with the Stars
     18 Sep: Tom Odell has tried to perform a concert in Ukraine amid the ongoing war
     18 Sep: Lil Nas X is "in treatment" following his arrest in August
     Top Stories

    RUGBY RUGBY
    World champion high jumper Hamish Kerr has fired a warning to his rivals that he believes a strong offseason will take him to another level More...


    BUSINESS BUSINESS
    Calls for better quality analysis of Cabinet policy proposals, and how they're regulated More...



     Today's News

    Entertainment:
    Mel B "didn't expect any" of her Spice Girls bandmates to attend her double wedding 13:01

    Entertainment:
    Nick Cannon became a father to 12 children because he was "careless" and should have taken more time to heal from the "trauma" of his divorce 12:31

    Accident and Emergency:
    Firefighters are battling a house fire near the rural village Tutira near Napier this morning 12:27

    Entertainment:
    Pedro Pascal's sister Lux "empowers" him during existential crises about his age 12:01

    Living & Travel:
    Authorities are continuing a large-scale search for a woman missing from Christchurch 11:57

    Politics:
    Major changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme are being made law 11:57

    International:
    Jimmy Kimmel Live pulled from air by US broadcaster ABC over 'insensitive' Charlie Kirk comments 11:47

    Entertainment:
    Jacob Elordi has rekindled his romance with Olivia Jade Giannulli 11:31

    National:
    Why are state visits such powerful diplomatic tools? A constitutional expert explains 11:17

    Business:
    Calls for better quality analysis of Cabinet policy proposals, and how they're regulated 11:07


     News Search






    Power Search


    © 2025 New Zealand City Ltd