NO JOKE FOR JERRY SEINFELDS KRAMER

The Cast of Seinfeld

A group of African-American community leaders have spoken out against former Seinfeld actor Michael Richards' stand-up comedy act, which included shouting racial insults.The 57-year-old actor-comedian, who is best known for playing Jerry Seinfeld's eccentric neighbour Kramer on the hit TV show, stunned the Laugh Factory comedy club audience in West Hollywood.Richards shouted racial insults at people who made fun of him during his performance. Celebrity-news website TMZ.com released Richards' video on Friday showing his performance.The tirade apparently began after two black audience members started shouting at him that he wasn't funny."He made a comment that 50 years ago African-Americans would have been hanging from a tree with a fork stuck up their rear end," said Najee Ali, executive director of Project Islamic, a civil-rights group."Fifty years later, we're saying to Mr Richards that that's unacceptable hate speech and that that type of rhetoric which caused many blacks to be hanged and lynched, because of intolerance," added Ali. He said the group would be expecting an apology or they would hold public demonstrations against Richards.