Michael Richards: The News Roundup

MSNBC

Lisa de Moraes of the Washington Post reports on a TMZ clip that discusses past incidences of misogyny and anti-Semitism on Richards' part.
TMZ -- the AOL Time Warner gossip Web site that brought us Richards's N-word marathon -- yesterday introduced a video interview it conducted with two people who say Richards went on a similar room-silencing screamfest about Jews during an appearance at another Hollywood comedy club last spring.

In the Times, Bill Carter points out an interesting inconsistency in Laugh Factory owner Jamie Masada's stance.
Protesters appeared at the comedy club on Monday and its owner, Jamie Masada, said Mr. Richards would not be back until he had apologized. “That is one thing I won’t tolerate,” Mr. Masada told reporters on Monday. Oddly, Mr. Richards actually appeared again at the Laugh Factory on Saturday night, before the tape of his offensive tirade became public.

Nikki Finke of LA Weekly's "Deadline Hollywood Daily" points to the accepted racism inside many of today's comedy clubs.
In my opinion, the real news behind Seinfeld's Michael Richards spewing "n"-word racial epithets after being heckled during his Friday night stand-up routine at the Laugh Factory (see video here) is this: many of today's comedy clubs have become a cesspool of hatred. Inside them, racism, ethnic prejudice, religious bigotry, homophobia and sexism all masquerade as humor. Anyone who's been to the clubs and heard the acts knows this to be true. Yet, in most cases, the audiences or the club owners/managers rarely react badly.

Finally, here's the AP clip from Richards' appearance on Jesse Jackson's show on Sunday, via LA Times.