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The key point here is that he was not using the word as part of a joke.
If he had used the word in his routine, in a different context, he may well have gotten away with it. This is NOT the case.
Given, we don't see what happens for for his triade, but there really is nothing the guys could have said to set this off. Michael Richards is a professional comedian, part of the job is dealing with hecklers. I don't see any legitimate reason for calling someone who paid to get into your show a n*gger. Had he stopped at "with a fork up your ass" he would have been okay...on the line, but okay. My guess, too much coke before his set.
Professional comedians need to read thier audience's reactions to determine what material is working. When he belts out the word n*gger, you can hear people saying "oh my god" and "oooh", this is not topical shock - It's disbelief. The fact the guys didn't rush the stage and own this guy are testament to thier restraint. For that, I'll ignore the 'cracker' comments. If I said that to some guy at a club, I wouldn't have any right to expect any help in the alley when I'm getting my ass kicked.
There is no way to justify this. MR was out of line, period.
I don't care how much he denies being a racist, this was not material. He got pissed about being heckled and these racial epithets were his first response. Irresponsible and inappropriate.
Look at his body language while this is going down, he is dead serious. This guy is done in Hollywood.
Maybe Mel Gibson is looking for a golf partner...
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