|
Post by BoroKat on Jun 13, 2011 10:42:50 GMT -4
Where was he in Nashville? Zanies? I will be the first to admit that my home state is not very open-minded and TN's latest anti-gay legislature is embarrassing and disheartening. But Nashville is not some backwoods southern town. It is actually pretty progressive. I cannot see an act like that being successful there.
|
|
|
Post by GirlyGhoul on Jun 13, 2011 12:28:27 GMT -4
See, that's what bugs me even more. It seems like he was assuming his material would go over well in the area he was playing at- probably because of the current legislature going down. But that does not represent the whole state and certainly wouldn't represent his whole audience. Chances are there would be many gay and gay friendly folks attending his show- just as surely there would also be a handful of closed minded haters.
So if he was assuming he was playing to a certain audience he's even dumber/ more narrow minded to make such an assumption. And for the handful of folks who would find his spiel entertaining- WHY would he want to play to that audience? Unless he's just a skeeze himself.
The whole thing is just really disappointing and disheartening. This kind of schtick wasn't funny when Andrew Dice Clay was doing it and Tracy isn't some new kid on the scene. He should know better.
|
|
|
Post by divasahm on Jun 13, 2011 12:32:54 GMT -4
Where was he in Nashville? Zanies? I will be the first to admit that my home state is not very open-minded and TN's latest anti-gay legislature is embarrassing and disheartening. But Nashville is not some backwoods southern town. It is actually pretty progressive. I cannot see an act like that being successful there. He was at the Ryman Auditorium. Management issued the following statement: "The Ryman Auditorium regrets that people were offended by statements made by Tracy Morgan during his June 3 appearance. The Ryman does not control the content presented by people appearing on its stage, nor does it endorse any of the views of, or statements made by, such persons.”
|
|
|
Post by Wol on Jun 13, 2011 15:54:17 GMT -4
Comics will absolutely tailor their material to their audience. Well, the smart comics do. I saw a guy go down in flames doing a pro-choice bit in front of pro-life tourists - it was ugly. And most comics also have standard responses to hecklers as well. When you work the road enough you learn that drunken assholes will pretty much say the same kind of things when they heckle a comic. It's really interesting how little stand up material is off the cuff. Even if they're trying out a joke for the first time in front of an audience, they've already worked it out on their own and with friends.
Love how people forget that freedom of speech is a two way street. Tracy Morgan is free to say whatever he wants. And intelligent people are also free to call him out for being a homophobic ass.
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
Apr 30, 2024 15:24:01 GMT -4
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 13, 2011 16:26:41 GMT -4
It annoys me a little bit that the Ryman says they regret that people were offended rather than outright stating that what Tracy said was wrong. It's sort of the equivalent of when a person says something really rude, then is like, "I'm sorry that you took that the wrong way/that you were offended." I know that the Ryman is not necessarily at fault here, but IMO it would have been better for the press release to show at least a shred of disgust and outrage over Tracy's homophobic rant.
And yeah, Tracy was really stupid if he thought his "jokes" would go over well. The audience probably had a lot of 30 Rock fans, most of whom I doubt are homophobes.
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
Apr 30, 2024 15:24:01 GMT -4
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 13, 2011 23:13:52 GMT -4
Tracy Morgan put out a new statement:
“I guess the reason I am successful is because I am so unfiltered. And sometimes as a result I say really stupid shit. The truth is if I had a gay son, I would love him just as much as if he was straight … I might have to try to love even more because I know of the difficulty that he would have in society. Of all the sicknesses, there is probably none more abusive than homophobia. My heart is committed to giving everyone the same rights that I deserve for myself. I don’t care if you love the same sex as long as you have the ability to love someone. Also, you should have the right no matter who you are to protect and serve our country. I am deeply sorry for the comments I made. What I am most sad about is the comments I made about kids and bullying. I would never want any young person to think that I wasn’t on their side and if any young person thinks they can bully a young gay kid, come see me at 30 Rock. On the corner, I would be happy to meet you. Or Brooklyn if you can’t make it into Manhattan. When all of this set in, I realized how hurtful my words were. Not asking anyone to feel sorry for me or pity me, but I definitely don’t want or need people to defend me. In my heart, I know that the words I used are indefensible. I appreciate the love from my friends and fans, but I was wrong. Period. Now, I just gotta think of some funny shit, not some shit that gets me knocked upside my head.
"I know how bad bullying can hurt. I was bullied when I was a kid. I'm sorry for what I said. I didn't mean it. I never want to use my comedy to hurt anyone. My family knew what it was like to feel different. My brother was disabled and I lost my father to AIDS in 1987. My dad wasn't gay, but I also learned about homophobia then because of how people treated people who were sick with that. Parents should support and love their kids no matter what. Gay people deserve the same right to be happy in this country as everyone else. Our laws should support that."
|
|
catfrog
Lady in Waiting
Posts: 260
Mar 5, 2005 22:51:52 GMT -4
|
Post by catfrog on Jun 14, 2011 0:42:35 GMT -4
I hate to admit it, because the image of someone stabbing their gay child will never be funny, but that new statement seems sincere to me. I'm glad he hasn't gone the "I said offensive shit, so will now enter rehab to take the heat off" route. (Yet). I just felt like that was an honest and somewhat heartfelt statement. A celebrity admitting that they were wrong, without qualifying it, is so rare. On the other hand, if he's so enlightened and embracing of ALL people, why say what he said? Comedians need to realize that they can say more and more outrageous stuff that they don't really believe, but their words have power. They validate the idiots that really DO believe gay people are lesser human beings. They make young people struggling with their sexuality feel like maybe they actually ARE lesser human beings.
I'm not defending Morgan AT ALL, and am quite surprised I feel like he's genuinely sorry. I don't know, I just wish comedians would stop using homophobia as a punchline. It's never funny.
|
|
|
Post by Yossarian on Jun 14, 2011 3:14:36 GMT -4
Yeah, that was a decent apology and I'm glad that he didn't pull the "I'm sorry if you were offended ..." line. But it still doesn't explain why he thought it was ok to say that crap in the first place.
|
|
|
Post by margojata on Jun 14, 2011 8:52:31 GMT -4
He feels very addict-y. I wonder if he's drinking again? He never completely looks healthy. New kidney+alcohol+bizarre hateful rants .. someone had better step in and send the guy for some help before he's a casualty.
|
|
eveschmeve
Sloane Ranger
Posts: 2,329
Mar 7, 2005 15:24:15 GMT -4
|
Post by eveschmeve on Jun 14, 2011 9:18:14 GMT -4
He feels very addict-y. I wonder if he's drinking again? He never completely looks healthy. New kidney+alcohol+bizarre hateful rants .. someone had better step in and send the guy for some help before he's a casualty. I always assume Tracy is drunk like, 90% of the time. It's partially why I'm surprised this is such a story- Tracy isn't known for being rational and intelligent. I also wish there was a transcript or video of what he said, rather than just a guy writing about it on Facebook. Not that I think he's lying, obviously Tracy has confirmed that he did say those things, but there's no context to it.
|
|