News | Entertainment
27 Jan 2026 0:15
NZCity News
NZCity CalculatorReturn to NZCity

  • Start Page
  • Personalise
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • Finance
  • Shopping
  • Jobs
  • Horoscopes
  • Lotto Results
  • Photo Gallery
  • Site Gallery
  • TVNow
  • Dating
  • SearchNZ
  • NZSearch
  • Crime.co.nz
  • RugbyLeague
  • Make Home
  • About NZCity
  • Contact NZCity
  • Your Privacy
  • Advertising
  • Login
  • Join for Free

  •   Home > News > Entertainment

    Michael Richards could have his Laugh Factory comedy club ban lifted years after his infamous racist rant at the venue

    The 'Seinfeld' actor, 74, who made a fortune and was skyrocketed to global fame playing Kramer on the hit comedy sitcom was filmed unleashing a tirade of racial slurs during a stand-up show at the spot in Los Angeles in 2006


    It led to the actor being barred from the club for life, but owner Jamie Masada has now said he might allow him back - if he has learned "the error of his ways".

    Jamie told TMA he "believes in second chances and doesn't want to hold a grudge".

    But the outlet reported Michael - who has just published his memoir 'Entrances and Exits' - is not looking to use the book to make a return to the limelight in stand-up shows, TV or with promotional appearances to promote the memoir.

    TMZ said Jamie says he was at the club the night Michael let rip with his racial slurs, and questioned Michael's take on what happened.

    The actor says in his book he over-reacted when a heckler told him he "wasn't funny".

    But according to TMZ, Jamie says there were no proactive heckles.

    He says a group of guests were talking during Michael's set and only when he demanded to know what they were talking about did one reply with the put-down he wasn't funny.

    Michael says in his book at the time of the incident he was still hurting from the failure of his post-'Seinfeld' sitcom 'The Michael Richards Show' - which lasted only eight episodes in 2000.

    He adds in the autobiography he heard talking coming from the balcony before he exploded in rage, and yelled: "Shut the f*** up!" - to the delight of the audience.

    Michael says he then heard someone from the balcony call out: "You're not funny. We don't think you're very funny!"

    Michael admitted he took the insult "pretty hard" and called it a "solid punch below the belt".

    He swerves detailing exactly what he said during his tirade - which featured him shouting into the audience: "Fifty years ago we'd have you upside down with a f****** fork up your ass" before calling one of his hecklers the n- word.

    Michael says in his book: "Of course, looking back at all, I wish I had just agreed with (my heckler.)

    "He went low and I went even lower. We both ended up at the bottom of the barrel."

    Michael added the words "You're not funny" kept running through his mind at the time of the incident, saying: "He laid it out so clearly, so simply, my biggest fear - not being funny.

    "Later, I'll come to realise that all of this, everything he said, is me. His voice is my voice. This is all ME going on. My inferiority sets in. My anger erupts."

    © 2026 Bang Showbiz, NZCity

     Other Entertainment News
     26 Jan: A guest at Brooklyn Beckham's wedding to Nicola Peltz has backed up his claim that his mother Victoria Beckham danced "very inappropriately" with him at the reception party
     26 Jan: The Incredible Hulk star Lou Ferrigno was banned from speaking in the 1970s series because he had a New York accent
     26 Jan: Michael Fassbender is fronting Acqua di Parma's 110th anniversary campaign
     26 Jan: David Beckham has broken his silence following his son Brooklyn's astonishing Instagram rant
     26 Jan: Anne-Marie thinks she was a "psycho girlfriend" in her previous relationships
     26 Jan: Gwyneth Paltrow has described Valentino Garavani's death as "the end of an era"
     26 Jan: A new musical based on Frank Sinatra's life and career will open in London's West End this summer
     Top Stories

    RUGBY RUGBY
    Fin Melville Ives has won gold in the men's ski superpipe to lift New Zealand to its best ever winter X Games in Aspen More...


    BUSINESS BUSINESS
    US copied Iran's Shahed drones — now they are deployed in the Middle East More...



     Today's News

    Law and Order:
     21:57

    Entertainment:
    A guest at Brooklyn Beckham's wedding to Nicola Peltz has backed up his claim that his mother Victoria Beckham danced "very inappropriately" with him at the reception party 21:31

    Soccer:
    Wellington Phoenix women's captain CJ Bott is hopeful she'll be back next A-League season after announcing her pregnancy 21:17

    Entertainment:
    The Incredible Hulk star Lou Ferrigno was banned from speaking in the 1970s series because he had a New York accent 21:01

    Entertainment:
    Michael Fassbender is fronting Acqua di Parma's 110th anniversary campaign 20:31

    Entertainment:
    David Beckham has broken his silence following his son Brooklyn's astonishing Instagram rant 20:01

    Entertainment:
    Anne-Marie thinks she was a "psycho girlfriend" in her previous relationships 19:31

    International:
    Quick and easy burger recipes for stress-free summer dinners 19:17

    Entertainment:
    Gwyneth Paltrow has described Valentino Garavani's death as "the end of an era" 19:01

    Accident and Emergency:
    Emergency services are cleaning up human waste spilled out of a rolled truckload of portaloos on State Highway 1, north of Timaru - but it's not as bad as first announced 18:57


     News Search






    Power Search


    © 2026 New Zealand City Ltd