It's been nearly 4 years to the day since his nuclear meltdown at an L.A. comedy club ... and Michael Richards is in higher demand than ever -- drawing Bieber-sized crowds last night in the Big Apple.


You gotta see it -- Richards rolled through Times Square with his lady friend cool as a cucumber ... and you won't believe how many people swarmed the "Seinfeld" star looking for autographs.

Yippie-yi-yeah!

The paparazzo who claims Michael Richards kicked his ass during a violent confrontation last month has finally released the pics from the incident ... and the photos seem to tell a very different story.



As we first reported, a photog named Brendon O'Neal (not employed by TMZ) is suing Richards -- claiming the "Seinfeld" actor approached him on an L.A. street on August 25 in a "menacing manner ... with closed fists" -- then proceeded to beat the crap out of him.

But in the pics, Richards appears to be cracking a smile -- definitely non-menacing -- and the only reason his fist could even be considered "closed" ... is because he's clutching his keys.

Obviously, we don't know what happened in between the shots -- but the photog claims he suffered "great mental, physical, and nervous pain" during the alleged altercation.

Calls to Michael's reps have not been returned -- but we're assuming he's gonna deny any wrongdoing.

"Seinfeld" star Michael Richards allegedly unleashed a devastating ass kicking on a photographer in L.A. last month ... this according to a new lawsuit obtained by TMZ.


According to the suit, photographer Brendon O'Neal claims Richards approached him on an L.A. street on August 25 in a "menacing manner ... with closed fists" -- then proceed to beat the crap out of him.

In the suit, filed Friday in L.A. County Superior Court, O'Neal claims Richards punched him in the face, knocked him to the ground, and then "proceeded to kick [O'Neal] numerous times, directing the blows to [O'Neal's] arms, hands, and camera."

According to the suit, O'Neal claims he suffered "great mental, physical, and nervous pain and suffering" -- and is suing for an unspecified amount for damages, medical expenses, and much more.

The lawsuit gives no explanation as to what triggered the alleged beating.

Richards has been known to go off ... e.g., the famous "N" word rant at The Laugh Factory in 2006.

Calls to Richards' rep have not been returned.

Harvey and Mike took your questions on everything today -- including Carrie Prejean's war against that wants to release her solo sex tape ... and Shauna Sand's XXX advice to the "biblically correct" beauty queen.


Also -- Paris Hilton might be full of it, Chris Brown visits Harvey's high school, Michael Richards' backlash vs. Mel Gibson's and Joe Jackson's allowance.

Plus: Breaking news on Erin Andrews' stalker.

Three years ago today, Michael Richards took the stage at the Laugh Factory and unleashed the racist tirade that would change his life forever -- but now he's turning the whole thing into a joke ... arguably inappropriate.



Richards made light of the rant on this weekend's episode of "Curb Your Enthusiasm." During one of the scenes, Richards -- playing himself -- blows his top at an African-American character, saying, "If only there were a horrible name that I could call you ... that would make you as angry as I am."

A group of spectators who witness the tirade instantly whip out their cell phones and begin to record. Richards, realizing the similarity of events, screams and bolts.

Couple of problems here: First off, the original tirade was shot on a DIGITAL CAMERA -- not a cell phone.

Second: Is Richards mocking himself ... or the digital-recording culture that exposed his greatest mistake? In other words, is Richards and "Curb" trying to make a bad joke out of a serious situation?

It's been almost three years since his infamous n-bomb tirade at the Laugh Factory -- but it seems Michael Richards is finally gearing up for his big comeback ... that is, if you'll let him.


Kramer was all smiles when we saw him last night in NYC, and why not? He was just on the cover of Entertainment Weekly and is reuniting with his old "Seinfeld" pals on an episode of "Curb Your Enthusiasm."

These could be the first steps out of that deep, dark black hole his career has been in for the last three years -- so we gotta ask ...

Michael Richards is back after a two year hiatus -- as in... he went underground after that whole racist rant thing.


Richards chose Venice Beach as his venue and a photog brought up a good point -- Dog the Bounty Hunter and Don Imus were forgiven way quicker.

Michael Richards had lunch with a white friend yesterday at the trendy Fred Segal boutique in Santa Monica.

Where has the time gone?


It's been 365 days since Michael Richards, previously best known playing Cosmo Kramer on the hit TV show "Seinfeld," unleashed a verbal assault on a heckler at the Laugh Factory that featured the repeated use of the N word.

Yesterday, the Laugh Factory "celebrated" the anniversary with a press conference at the club. Though it was promoted that Michael Richards would be there, he was not.

Perhaps he wanted to acknowledge this day in his own special way.

Move over crazy astronaut lady, there's another person who must be secretly celebrating the untimely death of Anna Nicole Smith -- Michael Richards!

During a very rare public outing, the disgraced "comic" did not look thrilled to pieces when asked, "Do you have any comment on Anna Nicole Smith?" A stone-faced Kramer ignored the question, kept his head down and seemed to silently pray for elevator doors to close.

Richards has clearly learned that keeping his mouth shut is a good idea.

Brat packer Anthony Michael Hall used the N-word twice while signing autographs and posing for pictures with fans last night, and it all went down outside the Laugh Factory, of all places.

Hall, the star of such 80s classics as "Sixteen Candles" and "The Breakfast Club," uttered several obscenities as he joked around with fans and photographers outside the same Hollywood comedy club where Michael Richards made his infamous rant back in November. When a particularly large, Hispanic looking fan came up to Hall looking to take a picture with him, Hall jokingly said, "I am scared of this nigga right here."

About a minute or two later, while posing for a pic with another fan, Hall says to someone off camera, "What up nigga?"

Throughout the video, Hall half-seriously told several people to "get the f**k out of here" and joked that the cameraman would sell the video to a TV show -- ha, close! During the taping, Hall also joked several times about being high.