Video After The Jump
By the time the media is done with Tracy Morgan it would be surprising if he will ever want to do stand-up comedy again.
The comedian set off a firestorm of controversy earlier this month when he crossed the line according to some who were in attendance at his Nashville show, when he joked about homosexuals.
He's since apologized several times publicly and even met with homeless gay teens
Today Morgan was back in Nashville at a press conference organized by GLAAD to issue yet another apology.
Kevin Rogers, who initially brought the issue to light with a Facebook post titled, “Why I No Longer ‘Like’ Tracy Morgan — A Must Read” was one of the first people Morgan apologized to.
“The first thing I want to say is that I apologize to Kevin [Rodgers], the people who were at the show for bumming them out, I want to apologize to my friends and my family and my fans and everyone in every community, who is offended with this," Morgan said. “I pride myself on 20 years, 18 years of standup, using it to heal people and not hurt. That was my whole thing and I hurt people with this. So, from the bottom of my heart, I apologize to everybody who I offended with my words on stage in Nashville and anywhere else. I just apologize to you… To err is human, but to forgive is divine. These young people here forgave me… I just want to take this opportunity to help and not hurt.”
Whether or not Morgan is truly remorseful only he knows, but let's look at this situation for what it really is.
Morgan is being forced to go on this "apology tour" because he wants to save his job on the sitcom 30 Rock. You can't fault him for that. I'm sure he gets a hefty paycheck from the show.
But at heart Morgan is a stand-up comic. Usually comedians are given some latitude in terms of what they can or can't say. And Morgan has been around long enough that people know when you see him live he is liable to say anything.
Unlike Michael Richards 2006 racist tirade in L.A. when he repeatedly called a black audience member a n*gger, Morgan wasn't directing his homophobic rant at anyone in particular.
I'm not defending Morgan because I'm sure some of what he said was hard to stomach if you were a gay audience member. I just think that if he had to apologize, once should have been enough. And if you went to his comedy show not knowing that he's a loose cannon then maybe you should have done your homework first.
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