"I [told Richards] you need to sit down and deal with this, give us some money," Sharpton told CNN.
Posted on 11/22/2006 3:57:53 PM PST by LouAvul
NEW YORK (CNN) -- The Rev. Al Sharpton said Wednesday he refused to accept an apology from actor Michael Richards, who spouted a racist rant at a comedy club last week.
But Sharpton said he did agree to meet with Richards to try to start a process to address racism in America.
"I [told Richards] you need to sit down and deal with this," Sharpton told CNN. "This is not about accepting an apology, this is about starting a process to really deal with the continual problem of racism in this country." (Watch Richards' meltdown on stage -- 1:39 )
Sharpton said he got the call from Richards earlier Wednesday.
"I think that what he did was so injurious that he has to sit down with a group and decide how he tries to ... deal with healing the obvious problem he's got in his own mind and his own heart, because it couldn't come out of you if it wasn't in you," Sharpton said.
The incident took place Friday night at the Laugh Factory in Los Angeles, California.
In a video clip posted on the celebrity gossip Web site TMZ.com, obtained from an audience member, Richards unleashed a nearly three-minute tirade punctuated by racial slurs at a group of African-American hecklers.
In it, he made a reference to lynching and added shortly before walking offstage, "That's what happens when you interrupt a white man."
TMZ.com is a subsidiary of Time Warner, as is CNN.
Richards apologized Monday on CBS's "Late Show" with David Letterman, saying he is not a racist.
"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," said Richards, who appeared on the show via satellite.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
I've been waiting for Jackson and Sharpton to step into the fray.....Richards is about to get taken to the cleaners.
I'm waitin' for the heckler's appology for using the "C" word.
>:[
appology
- p
_________
apology
Why did I know his apology wasn't going to be enough?????!!!
No forgiveness for some--this is what you get from a fake minister of the Gospel.
Hey, Big Al--when are you going to pay Stephen Pinones what you owe him?
Kramer should just tell Al that he's apologized and is moving on with his life.
Kissing everyone's ass just gets you Gibsonized.
Why? Was Sharpton in the audience when Richards blew up?
I gotta admit, Richards's appearance on the show and his commentary were more bewildering than anything else. He did seem distraught by the whole thing, no question, but his commentary made me wondering more about whether he has his full mental faculties or not.
His repeated use of 'Afro-American' was odd, and his strange extended pauses were curious. Even the studio audience laughed at inappropriate times during those very long few minutes.
Strange situation, and a strange guy.
I gotta admit, Richards's appearance on the show and his commentary were more bewildering than anything else. He did seem distraught by the whole thing, no question, but his commentary made me wondering more about whether he has his full mental faculties or not.
His repeated use of 'Afro-American' was odd, and his strange extended pauses were curious. Even the studio audience laughed at inappropriate times during those very long few minutes.
Strange situation, and a strange guy.
Enough of the communist style reeducation. He did it, he apologized and the rest is a pile of BS.
waiting for al-Sharpton to apologize for his antisemitism.
Sharpton is an asshole.
What good does it do to not accept an apology when it is given?
Stir the pot and sling more mud. Nuthing is ever good enough.
What does he want? 40 acres and a mule?!?
Can you believe all the time spent on this story today, the anniversary of the JFK assassination?
"I [told Richards] you need to sit down and deal with this, give us some money," Sharpton told CNN.
We're still waiting for Sharpton's apology about Tawana Brawley, accusing a cop and the prosecutor of being racists.
Starting a race riot-Yankel Rosenbaum.
Freddy's Fashion Mart, instigation a murderous riot.
Calling Jews interlopers and diamond merchants.
The list of his racism goes on and on.
He has no place in respectable society, if we were a civilized society, he would be shunned and ignored, and not allowed on TV, including Hannity's show.
Slip Sharpton $20 and tell him to scram.
Remember what the MSM did to John Rocker for voicing his opinion about the denizens on the 7 train?
some how, it was George Bush's fault
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