Two things:

Richards lost it. Even if he hadn't used the word, he still lost it. It was unprofessional, the stuff of career-killing on stage blowups.

Second, despite the tone of many of the posts here, which I find repugnantly reminiscent of a "the nigger had it coming" sort of attitude, I am NOT in favor of the over-reactions, including calls by the African American community to censor artists who use the word, or the comedy club to fine comedians who use it in their acts on stage.

At some point, we all have to figure out why Dave Chapelle can get away with dersive uses of the word in his comedy act with impunity, but Richards career must be destroyed by it.

The African American community is having a hard time dealing with this issue. The word is ubiquitous in African American popular mainstream media/culture, used both derisively and fondly. It's ambiguous use is part of the problem. Is it realistic to expect the African American community be the only people on the planet allowed to use the words in these public contexts, while everyone else is told it is too profane for public use?