Tom Dreesen was in the Laugh Factory in Los Angeles the same night former Seinfeld star Michael Richards was performing. After some fans made a commotion, Richards broke out into a fit full of racial slurs toward some African-American patrons in the audience.
The incident left Dreesen upset.
“I was stunned, because with a veteran stand-up comedian, that would have never happened,” Dreesen said. “My anger is aimed towards two things. One is the way people would refer to him as a standup comedian. The other thing is he endangered the lives of the other people in that room, if it had been a rowdy crowd.
“As a standup comedian, we would have done a lot of things to keep control of the stage. Once he went crazy, he lost control.”
Dreesen said the crowd wasn’t heckling Richards. They had just come in and were settling in and ordering drinks while Richards was going through his routine.
“A veteran standup comedian would have handled it like a pro,” Dreesen said. “When someone heckles me in an audience, my brain goes, ‘Oh here we go. I know how to handle this.’
“I think his brain went, ‘How dare you interrupt my act. Haven’t you seen me on Seinfeld?’ He took it personal.”
Source: The Desert Sun
