There is something that must be understood about Richards, and that is that when it comes to perfection he has a touch of obsessive comulsive disorder. This was documented on the Seinfeld set for years, that if he did not like the way things were going he would stop the take and start over. Often times he would get pissed because he was having a bad day as an actor and would break into fits like that, only not as racially charged.
I know it may sound like an excuse, and there really is no excuse for that, but would you consider it terribly wrong if an ex-alcoholic indulged in old habits? Probably not, people would call it a disease and help the person recover.
Who knows, just some thoughts at 8:30 in the morning after a night without sleep.