Comedian Michael Richards said Sunday in Los Angeles he is not a racist and would seek to find out what inside him provoked a racist tirade.

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Speaking on the Rev. Jesse Jackson's "Keep Hope Alive" syndicated radio program, Richards -- best known as Kramer on the 1990s sitcom "Seinfeld" -- said he had not used language like that before to black people.

"That's why I'm shattered by it," he said. "The way this came through me was like a freight train. And after it was over, when I went to look for them, they had gone. And I've tried to meet them, to talk with them, to get to some healing because of the hate that came to the floor on all sides."

Richards said his racist and obscenity-laced tirade at Los Angeles' Laugh Factory last week was fueled by longstanding anger, not bigotry.

He said he felt humiliated by the audience -- and said his pain was so great he felt he had to hurt others to feel better about himself.