Ian left holding the Bagg by Dick (UPDATED)

by Brian McKim & Traci Skene on December 5th, 2006

AP is reporting at 5:20 AM today that:

Dick issued an apology through his publicist.

“I chose to make a joke about a subject that is not funny,” said the statement, which was provided to the Los Angeles Times. “In an attempt to make light of a serious subject, I have offended a lot of people, and I am sorry for my insensitivity. I wish to apologize to Ian, to the club and its patrons and to anyone who was hurt or offended by my remark.”

The original posting follows.

A sharp-eyed reader sent us the link to a TMZ.com bulletin which described an incident at the Improv on Melrose.

Ian Bagg‘s onstage. Andy Dick heckles him. Dick hops onstage with Bagg (insert scrotum jokes here). Then, Dick “began joking with” Bagg (that must’ve been uncomfortable). They briefly touch on the subject of Michael Richards, but continue onto other matters.

Then:

As Dick exited the stage, he suddenly grabbed the mic and shouted at the crowd, “You’re all a bunch of n*****s!”

The stunned crowd gasped and stared at each other. Bagg tried to play it cool and move on with his set, but the laughs weren’t there.

Big Winners: TMZ.com, Andy Dick (whose reptutation as a “flake” was far more widespread than Richards’ and who therefore, will not suffer the consequences of yelling such things in public), The Improv (It’s spelled right).

Big Losers: Ian Bagg (who won’t be able to wash the stench of association with a “racist,” flaky performance artist who often whips his dick out at inappropriate times), Comedy Industry (now that Dick has reinforced the notion that comedy clubs are “cesspools of hate,” a theory recently made popular by cantankerous crank Nikki Finke).

We feel for Ian Bagg. Unless, of course, this was all his idea.