Michael Richards

A controversy that began with actor Michael Richards using the n-word in a stand-up comedy routine now hinges on an "m" word -- namely, the difference between a "meeting" and a "mediation." A promised conference this weekend between Richards and the four African Americans whom he targeted during a racist onstage tirade three months ago has stalled over the two sides' inability to agree on how the session should proceed -- and whether it would be a legal mediation.

There was no bailiff, no court reporter, no public and no charges lodged at the start of the trial. There was even no defendant in person -- but no matter. The mock trial would go on, its centerpiece a videotape replay of the accused, actor Michael Richards, repeating the "n-word" over and over in an onstage tirade at a Hollywood comedy stage three months ago.

Actor Michael Richards, whose career nosedived after he shouted racial slurs at hecklers in a West Hollywood comedy club, has been seeking some spiritual healing here with his fiancee. Richards, best known for his portrayal of the eccentric Cosmo Kramer on the popular television series "Seinfeld," said he has quit stand-up comedy. "That night, when I was insulted and disrupted, I lost my heart; I lost my sense of humor. I've retired from that.

Michael Richards stunned a comedy club audience, shouting racial epithets at people who heckled him during a stand-up routine. The 57-year-old actor-comedian, best known for playing Jerry Seinfeld's eccentric neighbor Kramer on the hit TV show "Seinfeld," was performing at the Laugh Factory in West Hollywood on Friday night when he went into the verbal rampage. A video posted on TMZ.

Comic Michael Richards apologized Monday for a Friday-night tirade during his stand-up show at the Laugh Factory in Hollywood during which he used profanities and racial slurs directed at blacks. The 57-year-old actor who gained fame as Kramer, the wacky neighbor on "Seinfeld," offered his apology during an appearance on CBS' "The Late Show With David Letterman." It was taped in the afternoon and wound up on the "CBS Evening News With Katie Couric."

Two big-time media operations came correct on the same day -- Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., which claimed Monday to be listening to America's outrage when it canceled the "If I Did It" book and TV publicity stunt starring O.J. Simpson, and Jerry Seinfeld's "Seinfeld," which brought off a bizarre and discomfiting public apology Monday night for cast member Michael Richards, a.k.a.

WELL, THAT was a close one. After pulling back from the brink via the midterm elections, Americans seem to be in the mood for more accountability. On Monday, media magnate Rupert Murdoch announced that he was dropping "If I Did It," the coyly titled, thoroughly tasteless television-and-book project starring O.J. Simpson and masterminded by News Corp. that was set to debut next week.

Two men who say they were insulted by actor-comedian Michael Richards during his racist rant at a comedy club want a personal apology and maybe some money, their lawyer said Friday. The men, Frank McBride and Kyle Doss, said they were part of a group of about 20 people who had gathered at West Hollywood's Laugh Factory to celebrate a friend's birthday. According to their attorney, Gloria Allred, they were ordering drinks when Richards berated them for interrupting his act.

Michael Richards will appear on the Rev. Jesse Jackson's nationally syndicated radio program to discuss his racist rant at a Los Angeles comedy club, the civil rights leader said. Richards' participation in the "Keep Hope Alive" program is a chance to reach out and apologize to the black community, Jackson said. Calling Richards' words "hateful," "sick" and "deep-seated," Jackson said Richards' inclusion in the radio show airing today would be a chance for a broader discussion.

Comedian Michael Richards said Sunday that he did not consider himself a racist and that he was "shattered" by the comments he made to two young black men during a tirade last week at the Laugh Factory in West Hollywood. Richards appeared on the Rev. Jesse Jackson's nationally syndicated radio program, "Keep Hope Alive," as a part of a series of apologies for the incident. He said he knew his comments hurt the black community and hoped to meet with the men.