Photo: Alan Light · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Born in United States · Nationality American — Comedy / television / public statements / reputation

Michael Richards

Documented profile covering 1 controversy: “2006–2024: racist tirade at Laugh Factory, repeated apologies and prolonged withdrawal from stand-up”.

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Profile No. 2020 · Updated on 12 October 2026

1Documented controversy

3Sources

0Formal charge · all time

0Conviction

§ Legal statuses reflect the documented sources as of the date shown; they replace neither court decisions nor the presumption of innocence. Counts are not a rating. Methodology

I. Documented controversies

17 November 2006–2024

2006–2024: racist tirade at Laugh Factory, repeated apologies and prolonged withdrawal from stand-up

No legal proceedings

At the Laugh Factory in West Hollywood, after being heckled, Michael Richards launched into a tirade against Black audience members involving repeated racial slurs and a reference to lynching. The video circulated widely and provoked immediate public condemnation.

State of the evidence: Admitted by the person
Attribution: Directly implicated

Sources · 3

[1]
Los Angeles Times'Seinfeld' costar apologizes for racial slurs at comedy clubPressHigh reliability
[2]
The Washington Post'Seinfeld' Comic Richards Apologizes for Racial RantPressHigh reliability
[3]
Los Angeles TimesMichael Richards apologizes for racist tirade in new bookPressHigh reliability

Last verified: 14 September 2026

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II. Constellation of documented links

Linked profile (portrait or initials) — click to open it
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Two profiles are linked when a documented controversy of one names the other. The link points to that controversy and its sources; it does not indicate a personal relationship.

List of documented links (1)

Jerry Seinfeld1 documented reference
- Intervention publique lors des excuses de Michael Richards après une tirade raciste Source ↗

III. Has something changed?

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