With pal Jerry Seinfeld already Letterman's scheduled guest on Monday's "The Late Show," Michael Richards appeared via satellite to apologize for the shocking incident at the Laugh Factory on Friday night. TMZ obtained the horrifying video of Richards in a bigoted tirade against a heckler.
According to a source, Richards was close to tears during the apology.
Our cameras caught Seinfeld leaving the Ed Sullivan Theatre after taping his Letterman appearance. He told us, "It's all on the show tonight."
Seinfeld's reps confirmed to TMZ that "Michael appeared via satellite and apologized."
Comic Michael Richards is set to apologize tonight on CBS' "The Late Show with David Letterman" for a Friday night tirade during his stand-up show at The Laugh Factory in West Hollywood, during which he used profanities and racial slurs, including the n-word.
In the "Letterman" taping this afternoon, Richards said he lost his temper after being heckled on stage.
"I was at a comedy club trying to do my act and I got heckled and I took it badly and went into a rage," he said. "I'm really busted up over this and I'm very, very sorry to those people in the audience -- the blacks, the Hispanics, the whites -- everyone that was there that took the brunt of that anger and hate and rage and how it came through. And I'm concerned about more hate and more rage and more anger coming through."
Richards will appear via satellite during a pre-arranged segment with Jerry Seinfeld, a CBS spokesperson said. Seinfeld earlier had been quoted as saying the outburst by the actor who played his wacky neighbor on his long-running sitcom sickened him, calling it a "mistake."
On the tape of his Laugh Factory appearance, Richards shouts "Shut up!" makes a racially offensive remark, sparking gasps and boos from the audience, which triggers even more epithets from Richards. After one person shouts back at him, "That was uncalled for," Richards replies, "Well, you interrupted me, pal. That's what happens when you interrupt the white man."
Until the "Letterman" statement, Richards had been silent about the incident, even though he reappeared on the Laugh Factory stage Saturday night. A video of the apparent meltdown can be seen at tmz.com and cnn.com.
The language Richards used was so extreme, some observers compared it to the anti-Semetic outburst by Mel Gibson following his arrest on drunk driving charges last July, with some predicting it would mark the end of his career.
Black protestors gathered at the Laugh Factory Monday. Owner Jamie Masada held a news conference to apologize for Richards' outburst. He said the comic would no longer be welcome to appear there until he apologized.
Richards had been appearing around the country as a standup comic since the end of "Seinfeld," on which he became well known as Jerry's neighbor Kramer
