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Tina Fey has defended Tracy Morgan, while still scolding him, after he caused major controversy with a series of gay “jokes” in his stand-up show.
The comedian took to the stage at Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee for a comedy show on June 3, but the fun ended when Morgan made a series of offensive comments about homosexuality, telling the crowd he would “stab” his son if he was gay.
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Morgan issued an apology after the story hit the headlines and invoked the wrath of gay rights groups, stating:
“I want to apologize to my fans and the gay & lesbian community for my choice of words at my recent stand-up act in Nashville. I’m not a hateful person and don’t condone any kind of violence against others…Even in a comedy club this clearly went too far and was not funny in any context.”
Read Tiny Fey’s and NBC’s statements regarding this Tracy Morgan mess…
Tina Fey:
I’m glad to hear that Tracy apologized for his comments. Stand-up comics may have the right to “work out” their material in its ugliest and rawest form in front of an audience, but the violent imagery of Tracy’s rant was disturbing to me at a time when homophobic hate crimes continue to be a life-threatening issue for the GLBT Community.
It also doesn’t line up with the Tracy Morgan I know, who is not a hateful man and is generally much too sleepy and self-centered to ever hurt another person.
I hope for his sake that Tracy’s apology will be accepted as sincere by his gay and lesbian coworkers at 30 Rock, without whom Tracy would not have lines to say, clothes to wear, sets to stand on, scene partners to act with, or a printed-out paycheck from accounting to put in his pocket.
The other producers and I pride ourselves on 30 Rock being a diverse, safe, and fair workplace.
Bob Greenblatt, Chairman NBC Entertainment:
I speak for NBC and myself personally (Greenblatt is an openly gay man) when I say we do not condone hate or violence of any kind and I am pleased to see Tracy Morgan apologizing for recent homophobic remarks in his standup appearance. We will always recognize an artist’s freedom to express him or herself, but not when reckless things are said no matter what the context. Unfortunately, Tracy’s comments reflect negatively on both 30 Rock and NBC – two very all-inclusive and diverse organizations – and we have made it clear to him that this kind of behavior will not be tolerated.
Is Tracy Morgan’s apology enough, or did he simply go too far? Let us know what you think by tweeting us at @socialitelife or posting to our Facebook page.
Honestly – I think the only reason he’s apologizing is because he got caught and not because he necessarily feels bad for what he said. If he had sincerely felt bad about what he said, he would have never even said it in the first place.
if he never said it in the first place…then how could he feel bad about it?
I disagree. Perhaps he didn’t feel bad about it at first because he was ignorant to the impact it would have on others. He’s a comedian…..shock value and pushing boundaries is common. Comedians are often in the press for going too far. I commend him for trying to reel it back and admit he was wrong. Clearly the outrage and reactions have shown him those sorts of remarks offend and hurt people. I believe a person CAN learn and be shown the error of their own ways….no matter how obvious they seem to everyone else. It’s not always as simple as “if he really felt bad he wouldn’t have said it in the first place.”