Michael Richards, who played Cosmo Kramer for nine seasons of “Seinfeld,” has apologized for the racist incident that derailed his career nearly two decades ago, but he's not expecting a comeback.
Richards, 74, reflected on the 2006 incident in an interview with People magazine published Wednesday ahead of the release of his upcoming memoir, “Entrances and Exits.”
“I regretted it the moment I said it on stage,” Richards said. “I had an explosion of anger and it came out so quickly and violently. Anger is a powerful thing, but that's what happened. Instead of running away, I tried to dive in and learn from it. It wasn't easy.”
“Emergency managers expected me to do damage control, but for me the damage was inside,” he added.
During a stand-up show at the Laugh Factory in West Hollywood in November 2006, Richards went on a tirade and hurled racial slurs at several onlookers who were allegedly black.
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“I'm not a racist,” he told People magazine. “I have nothing against black people. The guy who said I wasn't funny just said something I've been telling myself all my life. I felt insulted. I wanted to put him down.”
A few days after the incident, Richards appeared via satellite on “The Late Show with David Letterman” while being interviewed by co-star Jerry Seinfeld.
“I'm really devastated by this and I'm really sorry to the audience,” he told Letterman at the time. “I'm really sorry that I said this stupid thing in a fit of rage in a comedy club.”
Richards, who played the extreme neighbor on Seinfeld alongside Jason Alexander and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, won three Primetime Emmy Awards for his role during the show's run from 1989 to 1998.
Related:Michael Richards opens up about his battle with prostate cancer in 2018
“I was a good character actor, but I was more satisfied being the character than being myself,” he told People magazine, adding that he continues to “learn and heal, heal and learn.”
Following the 2006 incident, Richards appeared in several episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm and Kirstie, but the father of two spent most of his time reading and studying religion and philosophy.
spoiler alert!How Jerry Seinfeld staged an 'amazing' TV reunion with 'Unfrosted'
On April 30, Richards made a rare public appearance at the Los Angeles premiere of his friend Seinfeld's Netflix film “Unfrosted.” His longtime friend also wrote the foreword to his memoir, which will be released on June 4.
“The book is a paean to shattering irrationality, a thoughtless spirit, and a meditation on the seemingly absurd difficulties that befall us all,” the book's blurb reads. “Disturbance and confusion are all around us. That is the basis of comedy; it is the failings we all fall victim to.”
“It's an inevitable mistake that we didn't anticipate. It's everywhere I go. It's in who I am. The light and the dark, the good and the bad. It's my life.”
