Michael Richards said he “found faith” after he took a self-imposed hiatus from Hollywood in 2006. The “Seinfeld” star walked away from the spotlight after going on a racist rant at the Laugh Factory. He was filmed yelling racial slurs at a group of hecklers during a comedy set and faced public backlash. He chose to “cancel himself” at the time. Richards wrote in his memoir Entrances and Exits, which was released earlier this month, “I took myself out.” During his time away from Hollywood, Richards worked on himself so he could understand what led to the outburst.
Richards told Fox News Digital, “I found faith along the way. Faith in creation and how marvelous this system is set up to — well, it’s rather merciful in that it allows us to reflect upon our wrongs and move on to get to a better place in oneself, to improve—the state of improvement. I’m fascinated by that. We as human beings can learn from our mistakes.” Richards started performing comedy at clubs in the 1970s and 1980s. Billy Crystal noticed the comedian, who gave him a spot on his first television special. Richards went on to star as a regular in “Fridays.”
Eventually, he landed the role of Kramer in “Seinfeld,” which ran from 1989 until 1998. Richards was awarded three Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. Richards was handed his show, “The Michael Richards Show,” in 2000, but it was canceled after two months. The 74-year-old actor returned to the stand-up stage for a handful of years before he stepped back following the racist tirade in 2006. Reflecting on the events that occurred that night, Richards told Fox News Digital he would have handled the situation differently today.
He said, “I would have probably tried to say something like, ‘I’m so sorry you don’t find me funny. Is there anything I can do? Do you need a back rub? Can I buy you some chips and more liquor?’ Ultimately, I probably would have just simply buttoned it up and gone home and just returned the next night and kept working at it,” he said. “I should have left the stage when it got really nasty.” Richards admitted he was “swept up by the rage” he felt when heckled by the audience members.
Richards recalled, “I tried in the beginning, but it was all going wrong. It’s a bad night, and I’m rather fascinated with just how bad it’s getting.” That’s another thing. As an artist late at night, I’m curious to see because sometimes I’ve had really terrible nights, and I stick with it, and I come out with an interesting bump. And what I mean by a bump is I’ll find some comedy and button up the performance. That night, I think I should have just left the stage.”
Richards joked he should have said, “Goodnight, ladies and gentlemen. And I promise if you come back next week, I’ll be funnier.” He admitted that he didn’t miss Hollywood during his hiatus, but he says he spent years looking into the meaning of his life. As he approaches 75, Richards explained he’d only jump back in if the part really “resonated” with him as an artist.