CHICAGO (AP) — Comedian-actor Michael Richards will appear on the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s nationally syndicated radio program next weekend to discuss his racist rant at a Los Angeles comedy club, the civil rights leader said yesterday.
Mr. Richards’ participation in the “Keep Hope Alive” program is a chance to reach out and apologize to blacks, Mr. Jackson said.
“He is embarrassed,” said Mr. Jackson, who spoke to Mr. Richards by telephone last week after being contacted by the actor’s publicist. “I think he wants to recover from the pain he now feels and the pain he’s caused others.”
Though he called Mr. Richards’ words “hateful,” “sick” and “deep-seated,” Mr. Jackson said his inclusion on the radio show airing next Sunday would be an opportunity for a broader discussion about the “cultural isolation” of black actors, writers and directors in the entertainment industry.
“We might turn this minus into a plus,” Mr. Jackson said.
Mr. Richards, who played comic Jerry Seinfeld’s wacky neighbor Kramer on the TV sitcom “Seinfeld,” was performing Nov. 17 at West Hollywood’s Laugh Factory when he lashed out at hecklers with a string of racial obscenities and profane language.
A cell-phone video camera captured the outburst, and the video later appeared on TMZ.com.
Mr. Richards appeared Monday evening via satellite on “The Late Show with David Letterman,” where he said he was sorry and that the tirade was fueled by “anger,” not bigotry.
He also apologized later to the Rev. Al Sharpton.
Mr. Jackson said Mr. Richards apologized to him, but his “public meltdown” showed he needs psychiatric help.
“I asked him, ‘Why do you hate blacks? Have you been robbed or accosted or molested in some way?’ ” Mr. Jackson said. “He said, ‘No, I can’t quite explain it.’ I said, ‘That’s why you need to talk it out.’ ”
Mr. Richards’ publicist, Howard Rubenstein, yesterday said his client has begun psychiatric counseling in Los Angeles to learn how to manage his anger and why he made the racist remarks.
“He acknowledged that his statements were harmful and opened a terrible racial wound in our nation,” Mr. Rubenstein said. “He pledges never ever to say anything like that again. He’s quite remorseful.”
Mr. Richards has tried to locate the two men he insulted so he can apologize, Mr. Rubenstein said.
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