Using the N-word: Is it a new trend?

Is Andy Dick the next Michael Richards and was Michael Richards the next Mel Gibson?

According to TMZ.com the quirky comedian from news radio fame and MTV's the Andy Dick show brought everyone to a complete halt when he used the N-word Saturday at L.A.'s Improv comedy club.

Sources say that Dick got onstage during another comedian's performance and started heckling the comic, but as he was leaving the stage he said "you're all a bunch of n******." Apparently no one including the comic thought it was funny.

Although not as popular, Dick is the third celebrity in recent months that has found himself in the hot seat for making racially charged comments.

Comedian, Michael Richards sparked a ton of controversy last month when he used the N-word repeatedly when referring to two black men who attended his stand up performance at the Laugh Factory in West Hollywood. Before that incident, actor Mel Gibson found himself in a tidal wave of bad publicity for the drunken anti-semitic statements that he made towards the Jewish community while being arrested for drunk driving.

While all of these celebrities have offered apologies and excuses for their behavior, are making these types of racist comments becoming acceptable? Are we starting to see a new trend?

If you believe the NAACP then a new trend is exactly what we're seeing.

In a November NAACP press release the organization makes the following statement:

The recent vile, racist tirade of comedian Michael Richards in a Los Angeles night club and anti-Semitic raves by actor/producer/director Mel Gibson earlier this year point to a pervasive trend in American culture.

In the press release Vicangelo Bulluck, director of the NAACP's Hollywood Bureau states "Race and racism are complex, emotional issues in America -- ones we are still reluctant to confront and address."

"What is so disconcerting is these recent racist outbursts are coming from notable personalities that have benefited from the support of millions of minority fans around the world. Their behavior is totally inexcusable because they should know better," says Bullock.