Katt Williams — once known as that guy who did that pretty funny “Every Day I’m Hustlin’” routine — has now secured his place on the crazy shelf alongside Michael Richards.

At an August 28th performance, Williams had a meltdown (video below) and, in the process, riled up nationalistic attendees in Phoenix, Arizona by singling out a Mexican audience member seated in the front row. Circling the stage like a coked-out peacock, Williams feeds the rah-rah crowd by frothing at the mouth, chanting “USA!” and delivering ad hominem gems such as:

“We were slaves, bitch. You just work like that as landscapers.”

“You should have fought for California — since you love it!” (Oh, wait, they did.)

And the tried and true standard of the good ol’ Tea Party “They took ‘er jerbs!” crowd: “If you don’t love America, then get the fuck out!”

When Michael Richards, a white man, used racial slurs in his tirade against black hecklers, the crowd (and the media) were up in arms. When Katt Williams, a black man, rants against Mexicans — in a state already up in heated arms over the touchy subject of immigration — he’s applauded wildly. It’s a perfect full circle of vindication: Williams thinks he’s Captain America, defender of liberty, completely oblivious to the ironic implications of his words, and the audience gets to let loose a cathartic roar of approval for the hip, edgy guy with the mic who’s voicing their prejudices that percolate so close to the surface.

So quoting Tea Party bumper stickers verbatim and throwing “mothafucka!” at the end is apparently all it takes to get billing as an edgy comedian. Fine, maybe the rules have changed in 2011. But Katt, do us a favor and stop citing pioneers like Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, George Carlin, and Dave Chappelle as “influences,” you fucking hack.

Today, Williams’s PR people apparently thought a half-hearted apology was in order. Here it is.