I think he wanted to hurt the guy, and trying to pretend it was comedy was just some ass-covering for having a hissy fit on stage.

If you're going to do Lenny Bruce style stuff, you have to have control of yourself. Richards sounded out of control - having a tantrum - and he aimed it at a guy who probably deserved a bit of ridicule (which the audience might have supported, but not what Richards hurled at him. You don't call people racist names in anger and then try to back-pedal and pretend you didn't just have a little strage-rage event. Losing control on stage is one of the worst things a performer can do.

LEJ, the prevalence of the word is a really, really lame excuse. Little children would get away with the "but everybody else says it" excuse. It sounds even worse when used to explain the actions of a person whose career relies on being able to read people and gauge reactions. He should probably just issue an apology and take some time off.