I read about it and saw about it -- the incident and the apology.
He really lost it, to say the least. He pretty much self-destructed.
A good stand-up comedian loves a heckler -- b/c they usually know what to do with them, if they are good @ stand-up and all. All comedians deal w/ them -- but I never seen them dealt w/ like that.
Basically, I guess Richards wasn't killing the club w/ his material. So, the heckler called him "washed-up." And well, Richards could've pointed out how much richer he is than this heckler and that he at least was "something in the public eye: Kramer". And even asked the heckler what he has done in his life to generate $. I'm sure Richards got rich off Kramer -- and probably still is, on royalties and all.
Instead...well, he lost it....went some other route....
When a person is mad at someone -- yeah, really mad -- they will just go for the jugular and lash out, saying anything and everything just to hurt someone in any way possible. Attack without abandon, pretty much. That's obviously what happened. I think Richards was pissed off his material was not killing the crowd with laughter, that didn't like being called "washed up", and just flipped out b/c things weren't going his way.
He could be a racist, too. That could also fuel what we saw. Though, maybe he ain't racist and just wanted to get that heckler any way he could, even if it meant dwelving into such territories like he did. Y'know, I dunno' Richards or his past, too well.
All I know for sure is this: Richards definitely needs some anger management help.