Michael “Kramer” Richards' Reputation in Crisis: Racist or Ignorant and Angry?

“Fifty years ago we’d have you upside down with a f***ing fork up your ass!” Screamed Michael “Kramer” Richards as the actor tried his hand at comedy at the Laugh Factory in L.A. last week, but lost it in a racial rant after allegedly being heckled by two black men in the audience.

According to the Associated Press, two black men, who say they were insulted by actor and comedian Michael Richards during his racist rant at a comedy club, want a personal apology and perhaps some money, their lawyer says. Richards, who played the wacky Cosmo Kramer on the hit TV show “Seinfeld,” appeared onstage at the Laugh Factory in West Hollywood last week.

Frank McBride and Kyle Doss, say they were part of a group of about 20 people who had gathered at West Hollywood’s Laugh Factory to celebrate a friend’s birthday. Their lawyer, Gloria Allred, says they were ordering drinks when Richards berated them for interrupting his act.

When one of their group replied that Richards was not funny, the comedian launched into a string of obscenities and repeatedly used a derogatory term for African-Americans. A mobile phone video camera captured the outburst.

The camera started rolling just as Richards began his attack, screaming at one of the men, “Fifty years ago we’d have you upside down with a f***ing fork up your ass.”

Richards continued, “You can talk, you can talk, you’re brave now motherf**ker. Throw his ass out. He’s a nigger! He’s a nigger! He’s a nigger! A nigger, look, there’s a nigger!”

The crowd is visibly and audibly confused and upset. Richards responds by saying, “They’re going to arrest me for calling a black man a nigger.”

One of the men who was the object of Richard’s tirade was outraged, shouting back “That’s un-f***ing called for, ain’t necessary.”

After the three-minute tirade, it appears the majority of the audience members got up and left in disgust.

Richards, who played Jerry Seinfeld’s wacky neighbor Kramer on the long-running TV comedy Seinfeld, made a nationally televised apology on The Late Show with David Letterman this week.

He has since publicly apologized to two prominent civil rights leaders, the Reverend Jesse Jackson and the Reverend Al Sharpton. Michael Richards is due to appear on Jesse Jackson’s radio show to discuss the crisis tomorrow.

Gloria Allred complained today that Richards “has not apologized to his victims directly, face to face, man to man.”

Richards’ publicist said his client wants to apologize to both men, who are black, but has not been able to locate them. The video of Richards’ outburst shows several people getting up and walking out as he shouts at the audience. His publicist, Howard Rubenstein, said Richards was not considering any demand for payment. ”He’s not dealing with that,” Rubenstein said. “He wants to apologize to them directly and then see what happens.”

A few comments from the Reputation Doctor regarding Michael “Kramer” Richards racial rant:

Michael “Kramer” Richards’ reputation crisis should be about heart work and not spin.

I was a returning guest on Fox News’ O’Reilly Factor last night as a reputation management expert and I was asked to analyze and critique Richards’ reputation in crisis. I emphasized three things in the interview: 1) This case is more about heart work than head work and Richards must examine himself internally before offering any communications externally. 2) Excellent reputations are built with truth, honesty, accountability, transparency, humility and consistency. 3) Richards needs to go the rehab immediately to examine his deep and personal psychological issues which are hurting many other people, as well as himself. In my opinion, he needs to be in rehab for a minimum of 6 months to properly examine the problem and then develop new and important habits for lasting change.

His PR counsel, Howard Rubenstein, has already made big mistakes in reaching out to Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. They were not in the audience and should not be the focus for repairing a reputation.

I also mentioned this on Fox News. Jackson and Sharpton are men who love to pour gasoline on a fire and their egos love the media limelight. The proper way to contain this crisis and do the right thing would be to focus on the audience which was at the Laugh Factory the night of the tragic racial rant. I recommend working with the Laugh Factory to best reach all those in attendance of Richards’ stand-up routine. He should try to give them all an honest and direct apology in person, face-to-face. Why? Because all those in attendance were offended, especially the black audience members. Those offended were not just the two black men in the audience now seeking cash from Richards.

Michael Richards is not a stand-up comic. He is an comedic actor. There is a BIG, BIG difference!

Michael Richards considers himself to be a stand-up comic, but he is not. Just ask the real stand-up comics on the comedy circuit. They know how to properly handle a heckle. The goal is to turn lemons into lemonade with a better joke, not with an angry racial tirade! In fact, it is one of the first things a true comedian learns on the stand-up circuit. Michael Richards was trying to resurrect his career by performing more stand-up routines. Well, guess what? It backfired! I believe it was very wise for the Laugh Factory to separate itself from Richards. Owner Jamie Masada and comedian Paul Rodriguez (a friend of mine) both did a good job. They had to defend their comedy club and support their audience. In doing so, they retained their reputations. Michael Richards’ anger issues surfaced more than once in very ugly ways on stage.

Hire a professional crisis PR and reputation management counselor immediately when in crisis. Waiting even 24 hours may be too late and may increase the damage to your reputation significantly.

Michael Richards’ actions emphasized another important rule: don’t wait, don’t fake it and don’t wing it when your reputation is in crisis! If you or your team don’t have significiant crisis PR and reputation management experience, get professional crisis PR and reputation management help immediately! Richards obviously was not properly counseled for his appearance on the Letterman show or the evening after his racial rant. He is an actor and this was not acting. He was very uncomfortable and inexperienced on stage and during his post tirade interview. Seinfeld set the whole interview opportunity up to help his friend on Letterman, and Seinfeld also sought to protect his own reputation. There is a reason why seasoned experts in crisis PR and reputation management make as much or more than seasoned attorneys. Why? Because your reputation is everything! Many attorneys try to pretend to be experts in the court of public opinion, as well as the court of law. This is a big mistake. Ironically, I’ve had to bail out many attorneys in reputation crises themselves. If you are an attorney, it is best to hire seasoned crisis PR or reputation management experts to co-counsel your clients in both courts (the court of law and the court of public opinion) in cases like this. Learn from Michael “Kramer” Richards’ mistakes and value your own reputation too. Hey, you don’t want to become a negative YouTube video played over and over again like Richards, do you?

Remember, do the right thing when your reputation is in crisis and seek the counsel of an experienced reputation management expert. It will be a major challenge, but ultimately the rewards of repairing your reputation will be great. Why? Because Your Reputation Is Everything!™

Michael "Kramer" Richards

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