Warning: Offensive Humor

There is a rule in the world of comedy. "Nothing is off-limits if it's funny." My ex is a comic (don't ask, he's not famous) & he called today, laughing his ass off about the Michael Richards meltdown. Richards went too far. He used a racial slur to counter-attack an audience member. But his main crime was that it wasn't funny. For that, the public will vilify him. Humor can offend on many levels:

Q: What's the difference between Jesus & a picture of Jesus?

A: It only takes one nail to hang the picture.

Q: What's white & goes up & down in a crib?

A: Michael Jackson's ass.

Q: What did the leper say to the hooker?

A: Keep the tip.

Q: Why do Republicans cry during sex?

A: Pepper spray.

Okay, I'll stop. (but I could go on for hours) I am a huge fan of absurdist comedy, so Michael Richards is a particular favorite of mine. He is a unique specimen, an anachronistic talent who should have starred in Mack Sennett comedies in an earlier era. He created something on Seinfeld that nobody ever saw before & Jerry himself gives him full credit for the show's success. Comedians know what happened to poor Michael. He's been on the road for a few months, he misses his family, his show is not well-received. Then he encountered a jerk out in the dark shouting insults at him that he found offensive, so he tried to return that energy by offending the heckler in the most aggressive way he could. He called him a nigger. If he had done it in a snappier, funnier way he wouldn't have been groveling on Letterman last night & looking like a beaten dog. The audience might have laughed a bit, the loudmouth would have been diffused by that sound & Richards would have softened & proceeded. What his fellow comics find hysterical is that he just kept shouting it, with no tagline....no punch. What a career-stopping moment.

They had a panel on CNN to discuss this very important issue & one member was an African/American comic who claimed to know Richards for 30 years. The man could hardly keep a straight face. While a human rights activist was blabbity-blabbing about racism & bigotry, the black comic was literally biting his lip to keep from laughing. (you could hear others laughing in the background, so he must have had pals with him) The CNN reporter asked the comic, "What should Michael Richards do to make up for this racist behavior?" He answered, "I think he should do a concert at the Apollo." When the room dissolved in laughter, the reporter switched her focus to another panel member quickly, but not until the comic yelled out, "And he should adopt a black baby!"

What I think Michael should do is go home, apologize to his agent, snuggle his children & hope for better days. And some producer should think about putting that Apollo concert together for him, it would be a hoot. I would watch.....and from whatever cloud he's on, Andy Kaufman would be watching too. Concerts with hostile audiences were right up Andy's alley.

Poor old Kramer just stayed out on the road too long. I'm willing to give him a break on this one because he's given me a lot of laughs. He didn't eat a live baby onstage, he tried to offend someone that was offending him. He made a bad choice that was unforgivably unfunny.