‘Seinfeld’s’ Michael Richards Speaks Out in First TV Interview Since 2006 Racist Rant

Michael Richards, best known for playing Kramer on “Seinfeld,” was emotional and contrite as he sat down with Hoda Kotb for a “Today” interview.

The sit-down marked his first TV interview since he was canceled in 2006 over a racist rant onstage at the Laugh Factory in Hollywood.

Afterward, Michael also opened up on "The View." Keep reading for more details from that conversation.

On "Today," Hoda started by asking, “How are you different today than you were on that day?”

He replied, “The difference… probably more aware of myself. Anger, looking at it very closely. It is something that is always with us, certainly with me. Not as horrible as it was 18 years ago. Anger had a hold of me.”

Michael continued, “I canceled myself out. Take an exodus, get away from show business and see what the heck is going on inside me to have been so despicable that night, losing my cool and hurting people."

Kotb asked if he felt like he has made amends. A somber Richards replied, “I think so,” adding that eventually he got to a place where he could forgive himself.

She also asked about his prostate cancer diagnosis in 2018, and how that changed him.

“I thought I was going to go, really — I had given in to that,” he recalled. “And then I found out that if we move fast enough we could get at the cancer, and I had a great surgeon… at Cedars-Sinai there in Los Angeles… I made it. I beat it.”

His medical journey was also the catalyst for the 74-year-old to release his new memoir "Entrances and Exits," hitting bookstores today.

Michael said of battling cancer, “That certainly motivated me to get at the book because I went through a big review of my life.”

Richards also revealed that he revisited his famous role as Kramer while watching “Seinfeld” a few years ago with his son Antonio, when he was 9.

Hoda asked, “Did he think you were funny?”

Michael replied, “Oh, yeah, indeed. Everybody, the whole show was just cooking.”

His son’s favorite character, however, was Wayne Knight’s Newman.

As for his book, the actor said he hopes people take away “that I’m human” and “striving to be a better person.”

He added, "Just discovering myself along the way. It's really a pleasure. It's hard work, though, in dealing with the living and the dying, I think, when I got close to that four and a half years ago."

While visiting "The View," Richard also spoke about his 2006 rant, recalling how a heckler said he wasn't funny.

He explained, "I went into character, and I work in a comedy club environment where the N-word is used a lot and I decided I would let it loose," later adding, "I felt I got hit, so I hit back. 'That person went low, so I’m going lower.' I’m very emotional about it. After 18 years, you can feel it…”

As for whether he still carries rage or anger, he said, “Anger is still around — it’s the color of my fur. I went personal, personal, then I started seeing it collectively and the rage behind the wars, and I’m there in a club making war on my fellow man.”

Richards also said of his cancer diagnosis, “Well, I’m healthy. But at first, I thought, 'That’s it, I’m out of here.' Then I looked at my family and certainly my 9-year-old son and said, 'Gee, I’d really like to hang around for a little longer.' So, when I had the surgery, it worked. So, I’m around, and here I am.”

Ahead of the interviews, Michael hit the red carpet for the first time in years in support of Jerry Seinfeld at the “Unfrosted” premiere.