I didn't recall the aftermath of this because it was so long ago.
But from this video anyway, Jerry Seinfeld didn't do anything that would lead to him being viewed as a racist. He stood by a friend who did a horrible thing and told him that it was a horrible thing. And michael seemed genuinely sorry and confused over what brought it out of him. Seinfeld also had Richards on in his Comedians Getting Coffee and Richards was still bothered by it, a decade later.
As a side note to this particular issue, there's one thing that I feel is a bit annoying here.
And that's this idea that when a person is angry, that the truth comes out. And I just don't believe that. I don't. I think when people are hurt and angry, they will tend to lash out in response with anything to hurt the one that is hurting them.
And so in this particular example, do I think Michael Richards is a racist? No. I don't. And I have zero doubt that many on this board will disagree or accuse me of defending Michael Richards as a racist. There is no defending what he did. There is NO DEFENDING WHAT HE DID. But I think people ought to have a bit more consideration into the context around a situation when regrettable things are done and said.
This board, every day it seems, is going down this hole of absolutes and polarization. Where is 1 person says the wrong thing, or does the wrong thing or believes the wrong thing, they are just labeled XYZ and cast aside. As if life and people aren't complex. Or people don't make mistakes. Or people can't evolve or change.
This post is not a direct response to the OP but I felt like speaking toward a broader issue and trend that I feel like is happening with a lot of people in the public eye.