Richards: Anger spurred outbursts

The former 'Seinfeld' co-star apologized in David Letterman's show.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- He called two black hecklers the "n-word" and enthusiastically referenced a time when blacks were often victims of civil-rights abuses, but Michael Richards said his verbal barrage during a stand-up routine was fueled by anger and not bigotry.
"For me to be at a comedy club and flip out and say this crap, I'm deeply, deeply sorry," the former "Seinfeld" co-star said during a satellite appearance for David Letterman's "Late Show" in New York.
"I'm not a racist. That's what's so insane about this," Richards said, his tone becoming angry and frustrated as he defended himself.
Richards described himself as going into "a rage" over the two audience members who interrupted his act Friday at the Laugh Factory in West Hollywood.
His explanation was reminiscent of Mel Gibson's assertion that he wasn't anti-Semitic after he let off a barrage of Jewish slurs during a traffic stop last summer: Despite what came out of his mouth, that's not what is inside him.
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Veteran publicist Michael Levine, whose clients have included comedians George Carlin, Sam Kinison and Rodney Dangerfield, called Richards' remarks inexcusable. Comics often face hecklers without losing their cool, he said.
"I've never seen anything like this in my life," Levine said Monday. "I think it's a career ruiner for him. ... It's going to be a long road back for him, if at all."
His Laugh Factory tirade began after the two clubgoers shouted at him that he wasn't funny.
Richards deserved the chance to apologize, Jerry Seinfeld said on the "Late Show."
"He's someone that I love and I know how shattered he is about" what happened, Seinfeld said.
At one point, however, Richards grew flustered and expressed second thoughts about appearing on the program when his use of the term "Afro-American" caused some audience members to laugh.
"I'm hearing your audience laugh and I'm not even sure that this is where I should be addressing the situation," he said.
Richards, 57, who played Seinfeld's eccentric neighbor Kramer on the hit 1989-98 sitcom, hadn't spoken publicly about his remarks before "Late Show."
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