News | Entertainment
17 Dec 2025 15:39
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
     17 Dec: Hugh Jackman once secretly wet himself on stage during Beauty and the Beast
     17 Dec: Amanda Seyfried has refused to apologise for comments about Charlie Kirk
     17 Dec: Idris Elba plans to give up acting to focus on directing "eventually"
     17 Dec: Kylie Jenner is refusing to "live for whatever everyone else wants" her to do
     17 Dec: Lauren Cowell has joked a funeral could come before a wedding "at the rate we're going"
     17 Dec: Gene Simmons has apologised for stating that former KISS guitarist Ace Frehley died as a result of "bad decisions"
     17 Dec: Julia Louis-Dreyfus felt "backed into a corner" to reveal her cancer diagnosis
     Top Stories

    RUGBY RUGBY
    The Highlanders have signed promising Southland playmaker Mika Muliaina for the next four years More...


    BUSINESS BUSINESS
    Horticulture NZ's emphasising the importance of backing growers - as exports climb to record levels More...



     Today's News

    Law and Order:
    The Crown believes Jevon McSkimming must have known he was committing crimes, given his position of power 15:27

    Entertainment:
    Hugh Jackman once secretly wet himself on stage during Beauty and the Beast 15:20

    Boxing:
    Multi-division world champion Terence Crawford announces retirement from boxing at age 38 15:17

    Law and Order:
    Former deputy Police Commissioner Jevon McSkimming's sentencing is underway in the Wellington District Court - where more than a dozen people have filed into the public gallery 14:57

    Entertainment:
    Amanda Seyfried has refused to apologise for comments about Charlie Kirk 14:50

    Entertainment:
    Idris Elba plans to give up acting to focus on directing "eventually" 14:20

    National:
    Hong Kong pro-democracy publisher convicted of sedition, in major blow to press freedom 14:17

    Politics:
    Meanwhile, Ngapuhi's is getting back Northland's historic Kororipo Pa - in the Kerikeri Basin 14:07

    Entertainment:
    Kylie Jenner is refusing to "live for whatever everyone else wants" her to do 13:50

    Politics:
    A historic land dispute dating back to the 1800s - is finally resolved 13:47


     News Search






    Power Search


    © 2025 New Zealand City Ltd