He told local freelance journalist Steve Friess of TheStripPodcast.com that condemnation of Richards was "the perfect example" of political correctness gone too far.

Had the situation been reversed and "there was a black guy on stage," there would have been no repercussions, the entertainer said.

"If they were heckling him during the show, they were wrong," he added. "If you're heckling a comic and interrupting a show, you're a (n-word) at that point."

He said he's never used the word on stage, but he acknowledged that he uses it "around the people I hang with. They're educated and they know it's just a word and it's a funny word, y'know."

He said he's used the c-word on women he's thrown out of his shows "and gotten away with it because they were." There is, he said, "a right way to do it."

His comments are sure to be a hot topic at the national convention of the National Association of Black Journalists, which opened Wednesday at Bally's and runs through Sunday.

THE SCENE AND HEARD

We hear boxing champ Floyd Mayweather Jr., who lives in Las Vegas, may be among the contestants for Season 5 of ABC's "Dancing With the Stars." ...

Former Spice Girl Melanie Brown married film producer Stephen Belafonte in Las Vegas in June, according to various reports. She gave birth to Eddie Murphy's daughter in April.

MEDIA UPDATE

Former KLAS-TV, Channel 8 weather man Kevin Janison is joining KVBC, Channel 3, beginning Aug. 27 as the evening meteorologist, KVBC announced Wednesday. Janison was replaced at KLAS last August after 12 years when the station brought in Gina Cancelliere. He will be handling the 4, 5, 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts, and on sister station CW at 10 p.m. ...

Get-well wishes to former Siegfried & Roy publicist Frank Lieberman, who is home after a week of hospitalization for kidney failure. Lieberman, a columnist at the local publication Israelite and a veteran publicist, is on dialysis and is getting back to normal. ...

Las Vegan Ben Herman, who worked as an intern at ESPN last summer, has joined the Detroit Lions media relations department. He graduated from Palos Verde High School in 2003 and the University of Arizona this year. ...

Don Hallett has been appointed program director at KKLZ-FM, 96.3.

SIGHTINGS

Kid Rock, having a late dinner and a Bordeaux wine fest at N9ne Steakhouse (Palms) on Tuesday with Sacramento Kings co-owner Gavin Maloof, who attended the sound check for the rocker's Aug. 31 show at The Pearl. Their wines included first-growth Bordeaux vintages Latour, Mouton Rothschild and Margaux. Kid Rock went on to Moon and the Playboy Club.

THE PUNCH LINE

"Britney Spears in trouble again. Yesterday Britney Spears was involved in a fender bender. Fortunately, her kids weren't in the car at the time. Unfortunately, they were strapped to the roof." -- Conan O'Brien

Norm Clarke can be reached at 383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com. Find additional sightings and more online at www.normclarke.com.