Corporate Comedians Should Get Biz from Michael Richards

Michael Richards is an idiot. And probably a racist idiot. (In case you’ve been in a cave, comedian Michael Richards (Seinfeld’s “Kramer”) tore into some hecklers with some high-octane racial slurs. The whole thing was caught on a cell-phone-video. And in the back of the stage you can clearly see the Laugh Factory logo. (They must be horrified.)

Here is a comedian who had all of the fame he needed (and more.) And with one bad trip to the comedy club ruined his career. (I wouldn’t hire him again; would you?)

What’s the message from this? What’s the point? I have a couple of thoughts. First, this episode proves why corporate and business meeting planners need to look for corporate comedians, not just comedians. Richards used THE single most insulting words over and over again. And this is plenty to end the comedian’s career. But if you look at the video, even the words that people are NOT writing about are bad enough to ruin any single business convention.

Why should you book clean corporate comedians for your next event? Among other reasons, you can be assured that you won’t have any cell-phone-video circulating around the world with YOUR logo in the back. (Can you imagine if the logo was IBM or Samsung? Oye!)

My second point is that I worry for immediate future of clean corporate comedians. (Even me.) Richards might make meeting planners worry about even the most experienced and credentialed clean corporate comedian, and that’s a shame. Business audiences today need a laugh more then ever; but Michael Richards might make the buyers too nervous to pll the trigger.
Sorry Michael, but you blew it. The good news is that your rant pointed the spotlight on the need for buyers to know who they are booking.

Learn about my work as a clean corporate comedian here. (I promise I won’t call anybody names…guaranteed.)

Brad Montgomery
Clean Comedian, Corporate Comedian, Baffled at Michael Richards

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