When "Seinfeld" ended in 1998, Richards returned to stand-up comedy. He incited media furor while performing at the Laugh Factory comedy club in late 2006 after a cell phone video was published of him launching into an expletive-laced racist tirade after earlier interruptions from a group of late-arriving audience members. Due to significant media coverage of the event, Richards announced his retirement from stand-up early in 2007. He appeared as himself in the seventh season of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" in 2009, acting alongside his fellow cast members for the first time since "Seinfeld"s finale, as well as lampooning his incident at the Laugh Factory. In 2013, Richards returned to television when he played the role of Frank in the sitcom "Kirstie".