I really think the man had no idea what he was getting into doing stand up comedy.

Apparently, he hadnt been doing it that long. Some other well-known comics were mentioning that he probably wasnt used to being heckeled on stage like that. Not that this justifies his behavior of course...

It looked like he started the response back as a joke, and then he just lost it. He lost control of the audience, did not know what to say, and flipped out. Perhaps it was a combination of anger, nervousness, drunkeness, and stupidity. Even his interview on Letterman, he just seemed very scatterbrained about the whole issue. I believe he -IS- sorry about it, he is just in shock from the exposure.

Despite acting in the role of a wacky character like Kramer, I remember reading up on Richards. He is totally a reclusive person from what I remember, very quiet and not outgoing. Making absurd comments as he did shows how out of touch he is with the world today, and that is a shame.