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Tina Fey, creator and star of NBC’s sitcom30 Rock, has publicly expressed support for her co-star on the show, Tracy Morgan, amid a storm of controversy over a joke the actor/comedian is alleged to have made in a recent stage show. During the stand-up performance in Nashville, Morgan reportedly went on an ‘anti-gay tirade’ and is said to have joked that he’d “pull out a knife and stab” his own son if he were gay.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the allegations against Morgan were made by Kevin Rogers, who attended the show and said that before the show he was a fan of the Saturday Night Live alumnus. Rogers subsequently posted a piece on Facebook titled “Why I No Longer ‘Like’ Tracy Morgan – A Must Read.” The story was later picked up by the website of Truth Wins Out, a non-profit organization that campaigns against anti-gay extremism.
Morgan himself has since said sorry for any offense that he caused. In a statement to the trade paper he apologized to his fans and the gay & lesbian community for his “choice of words.”
“I’m not a hateful person and don’t condone any kind of violence against others,” Morgan said. “While I am an equal opportunity jokester, and my friends know what is in my heart, even in a comedy club this clearly went too far and was not funny in any context.”
Fey, also a former SNL star, has now offered her support to Morgan. Although she admitted that “the violent imagery of Tracy’s rant,” disturbed her, she indicated that homophobia was not something she associated with her co-star.
“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,” The Reporter quotes her as saying.
“I hope for his sake that Tracy’s apology will be accepted as sincere by his gay and lesbian coworkers on30 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,” she added.
Meanwhile, NBC exec Robert Greenblatt had said he was pleased that Morgan has apologized. At the same time, however, he gave a thinly veiled warning to the actor and other stars of the network’s shows that NBC won’t take kindly to being embarrassed in this way again.
“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,” said Greenblatt. “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.”
The controversy may have exploded too late to make the judges at the 51st Monte Carlo Television Festival’s Golden Nymph Awards think twice about rewarding Morgan for his role in 30 Rock. The star was named Outstanding actor in a Comedy Series at the event on Friday night.