Griffin Gets the Hook for Using N-Word

MIAMI -- A standup routine by black comedian Eddie Griffin was stopped after he repeatedly used the N-word, a magazine's spokesman said Wednesday.

Griffin, who has appeared in movies such as "Undercover Brother" and "Date Movie" and the TV show "Malcolm & Eddie," was performing at a Black Enterprise magazine event in the Miami suburb of Doral on Friday when he was cut off after using profanities and the N-word, said Andrew Wadium, a spokesman for the publication.

"We believe that ending the performance was the appropriate action," Wadium said.

About 1,000 people registered for the performance.

Griffin's publicist, Jeff Abraham, didn't immediately return an e-mail and a call seeking comment.

The Rev. Al Sharpton, who attended a meeting held by the magazine in Miami but not the performance, said the crowd gave an ovation to Earl Graves, the magazine's publisher, when he came on stage after the 39-year-old Griffin was pulled, according to a statement on the Web site of Sharpton's National Action Network.

The statement said Sharpton "expressed gratitude that the nation's pre-eminent magazine for African-Americans stands behind the efforts of National Action Network in getting rid of the N-word."

Public discussion on the word's use increased last year following a tirade by "Seinfeld" actor Michael Richards, who used it repeatedly during a Los Angeles comedy routine and later issued a public apology.

The issue about racially insensitive remarks heated up earlier this year after talk show host Don Imus described black members of the Rutgers University women's basketball team as "nappy-headed hos" on April 4.

At its July convention in Detroit, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People held a mock funeral for the word.

Black leaders, including the Revs. Jesse Jackson and Sharpton, have challenged the entertainment industry and the American public to stop using the N-word and other racial slurs.