A black comedian who repeatedly used the "n-word" and profanity in a Miami event for a magazine called Black Enterprise was booted from the stage before he reached the end of his standup routine.

Magazine publisher Earl Graves first pulled the plug on comedian Eddie Griffin's microphone, then asked the star of Undercover Brother and Date Movie to leave the stage.

Comedian Eddie Griffin performs in New York's Times Square in September 2005. He didn't get to finish profanity laden standup in Miami.
(Jeff Christensen/Associated Press)

"We at Black Enterprise will not allow our culture to go backwards," Graves said, addressing the crowd of about 1,000 at the sold-out event last Friday.

"Black Enterprise stands for decency, black culture and dignity, and we will pay Mr. Griffin all that we owe him but we will not allow him to finish the show if that's the way he's going to talk."

Graves received an ovation from the audience.

Griffin, who also starred in the TV series Malcolm & Eddie, has not made a public comment on the incident.

However Al Sharpton, the black preacher from New York who has spoken out publicly about use of the n-word in hip hop and by black comedians, applauded Graves's action.

 "It signified that we at National Action Network are not alone in the fight to end the demeaning and racist language that has allowed our people to aid in their own victimization for years," Sharpton said, adding that it was fitting that a pre-eminent magazine for successful African-Americans should take such a stand.

"Eddie Griffin has the right to say what he wants to say, but we have the right to protest what he says and will hold everyone to these same standards. I have nothing personal against Mr. Griffin, but I will continue to fight tirelessly to end the indecency that is setting us back a hundred years," he said.

Black leaders in the United States, including Jesse Jackson and Sharpton, have challenged the entertainment industry through their National Action Network to stop using the n-word and other racial slurs.

They have held private meetings with the hip hop music industry and criticized Seinfeld actor Michael Richards last year when he used racial slurs in a Los Angeles comedy routine.

The public discussion in the U.S. about racial slurs heightened earlier this year when talk show host Don Imus made inappropriate remarks about a women's basketball team.

At its July convention in Detroit, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People held a mock funeral for the n-word.

However, many black comedians and entertainers defend their right to use the word on the grounds of free speech.

With files from the Associated Press