...thanks to racist ranter Michael Richards

Hollywood star Damon Wayans has become the first comedian to be exiled from LA’s Laugh Factory since the Seinfeld actor’s offensive rant.

The comic mocked the club’s new-found notoriety when he performed there on Sunday, the night the venue hosts its weekly black comedy show.

Club owner Jamie Masada had imposed fines and a ban for any performers who used the word ‘nigger’ in the wake of Richards’ tirade.

But Wayans fell foul of it the moment he took to the stage and said: ‘Give yourselves a big round of applause for coming down and supporting Nigger Night.’

‘I'll be damned if the white man uses that word last,’ he told the audience. ‘This is part of our culture now... don't take that from us.’

According to the LA Times, the actor used the word another 15 times during his 20-minute set, costing him a $320 fine.

He was also banned from performing at the venue for the next three months.

Meanwhile, fellow stand-up Andy Dick has been forced to apologise for even joking about the Michael Richards incident – because he used the same language.

Following banter with comedian Ian Bagg at LA’s Improv Club, Dick parodied Richards’ rant by calling the audience ‘a bunch of niggers’.

But following a backlash on the TMZ.com website – the source that first broke the Richards story – Dick issued a grovelling apology through his publicist.

‘I chose to make a joke about a subject that is not funny,’ the statement said. ‘In an attempt to make light of a serious subject, I have offended a lot of people, and I am sorry for my insensitivity. I wish to apologize to the club and its patrons and to anyone who was hurt or offended by my remark.’

Published: 6 Dec 2006