Seinfeld’s Michael Richards Claims ‘I Canceled Myself Out’

2006 was a true low point for the Seinfeld alum. After portraying Kramer for nine seasons on Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David’s Emmy award-winning “show about nothing,” Michael Richards claims to have “canceled” himself out after his racist tirade while performing stand-up at Los Angeles’ famed Laugh Factory nearly 20 years ago, and the outburst was a result of hecklers in the crowd. Today, Richards has released a new memoir, Entrances and Exits. And during a recent interview, Richards claims, “I canceled myself out.” Richards said (per TODAY):

“[I am] probably more aware of myself.
Anger. Looking at it very closely, it’s something that’s always with us, certainly with me —
not as horrible as it was 18 years ago.
Anger had a hold of me,
and I canceled myself out.”

Seinfeld

Release Date

July 5, 1989

Seasons

9

Studio

NBC

Richards continued:

“Take an exodus, get away from show business
and see what the heck is going on inside me —
to have been so despicable that night, losing my cool, and hurting people
[…]
I’m certainly getting to a place where I could forgive myself, because I have to move on…
to be true blue about that.”

Michael Richards Is ‘Striving to Be a Better Person’

Michael Richards’ eccentric and wacky neighbor, Cosmo Kramer, figured prominently not only in the series, but the character was a clear standout in the best Seinfeld episodes originally aired by NBC. However, after Richards’ meltdown at the Laugh Factory some two decades ago, the talented actor virtually vanished from the spotlight. Today, Richards hopes people will read his memoir and realize that he’s “human” and someone looking to “be a better person.” Richards said in the same interview:

“I’m human.
There’s a good, bad and an ugly coursing through all these things —
striving to be a better person.
The entrances and the exits, what I come into, what I come out of, always so ongoing, a coming and a going.
Just discovering myself along the way,
it’s really a pleasure.
I mean it’s hard work,
though, in dealing with the living and the dying, when
I got close to that four and a half years ago [cancer].
That was just… wow.”

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Richards was diagnosed with cancer in 2018. Fortunately, he survived the ordeal, but the scare did affect the way the former Seinfeld star looked at life. “I made it, I beat it,” Richards said. “And that certainly motivated me to get at the book because I went through a big review of my life.”

It’s important to Richards that people know he isn’t racist, nor is the actor looking for a comeback. Since the incident at the Laugh Factory, Richards’ most prolific work came in a dozen episodes on the television series Kirstie. During the peak of his career, though, Richards won three Outstanding Supporting Actor Emmys (1993, 1994, 1997) for his portrayal of Kramer. And for those interested in picking up a copy of Richards’ memoir, Entrances and Exits is now available on Amazon. The book also features a foreword written by Jerry Seinfeld.