"Why I No Longer 'LIKE' Tracy Morgan"- Page 4

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 6/11/11 at 12:00pm

I think Tina Fey's response was perfect because it was so very Tina Fey. She managed to keep her humor while making a strong statement of support for the GLBT community. Plus, her veiled threat about his job security regarding all the gay people Moran works with was kinda genius.

I'm guessing Alec Baldwin my feel he doesn't really have a leg to stand on when criticizing someone who said gross things that have found their way to the public sphere.

Morgan can say whatever he wants. He's well within his rights to say these things publicly and privately. And I generally support any comedian's right to work as broadly and edgily (is that a word??) as possible. Chris Rock actually does a brilliant piece of standup based on the word 'Faggot'. I would never, ever want to restrict what words a comedian can use. But how they use them? The First Amendment only means the government can't do anything to suppress his speech. But we have every right to protest his work and use our power (our voices, our money) to make clear that this is unacceptable.

[romantico]

Posted: 6/11/11 at 12:39pm

How many gay teens have killed themselves because of people like Tracy Morgan and their attitude? Gay is a choice. If my kid were gay I would kill them. Gays can take a **** up the ### but they can't take a joke.

As long as you say you are sorry then all is forgiven. Business as usual.

[strummergirl]

Posted: 6/11/11 at 12:50pm

30 Rock is probably in its last go-around and since the show loves to play a farcical yet true to life working at NBC, I could see Fey and the writers cleverly making the fictional TGS w/Tracy Jordan fall apart at the seams like many shows prior to cancellation ie Tracy Jordan leaves the show.

[tazber]

Posted: 6/11/11 at 1:04pm

There was a quote by Don Rickels about the point at which an insult-based joke is not funny. Rickles was the master at walking that line perfectly.

This is from a brief biographical article about the "Master Of Venom":

If you hear the words "hockey puck" and think of ice hockey, you're a hockey fan. If you're a comedy fan, the visage of "Mr. Warmth" himself, the world's most beloved insult comic, will pop into your head...even if no one's quite sure how or why "hockey puck" came to be a put-down. What we 'do' know is that Rickles has a unique gift for generating riotous laughs by making fun of his audience's weight, height, gender/sexuality, economic status, looks, and ethnicity without actually hurting any feelings...or suffering any broken bones.

Updated On: 6/11/11 at 01:04 PM

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 6/11/11 at 2:02pm

I'm guessing Alec Baldwin my feel he doesn't really have a leg to stand on when criticizing someone who said gross things that have found their way to the public sphere.

Not to mention that people (here and elsewhere) are STILL bringing it up, like it's the most horrible thing in the world and that's the worst thing anyone has ever heard a parent say. It wasn't and it's not, but since no matter what he says, someone is going to say (while leaving out the fact it was the girl's horrible mother who released the voice mail) "Oh, well, he called her a pig on a voicemail, so who cares what HE says?" I mean, I must be the anomaly and I must have REALLY terrible parents, because there were times growing up when I heard a lot worse than that.

I've been thinking a lot about this. I think about going to see Sarah Silverman and laughing at her edgy stuff (that does include gay jokes) and how I always question how I can find her stuff funny, when I find nothing about Lisa Lampenelli funny. Silverman does race jokes, and I always like to think that what she's doing is satire and that the joke really isn't on the black (or whatever race) person, but being white, I'm not really sure I have a leg to stand on. I realize these aren't exact comparisons and I am in no way condoning what Tracy Morgan said, but I just think at a certain point people wield torches just to wield torches.

For what it's worth, I think Don Rickels (and Joan Rivers, for that matter) are nasty, mean-spirited and gross with their comedy.

Just a few months ago, there were plenty of people (on here and elsewhere) defending Charlie Sheen and saying that what he did off-set wasn't applicable to what he was like on set. I wonder if those same people think the same about Tracy Morgan.

I've been thinking about all this since it exploded and all I know is that I have no answers.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 6/11/11 at 2:16pm

All the answers are here for you:

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 6/11/11 at 2:23pm

Where to start? ...Leviticus! That sounds like a fun book!

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 6/11/11 at 2:28pm

My baby cousins daughter L'Viticus reads that book all the time.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 6/11/11 at 2:31pm

It makes me want to a have a bisexual orgy, where I serve shellfish and use polyester sheets!

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 6/11/11 at 2:32pm

Don't tell L'Viticus!

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 6/11/11 at 2:37pm

Re: Sheen vs. Morgan, I think it comes down to what went on.. Sheen was running around, doing drugs and having sex and spending lots of money... he wasn't being so, well, hateful, to an entire demographic and making 'humor' out of killing an effeminate gay child in the wake of headlines about gay children committing suicide, et al...

Re; Lampinelli vs. Silverman vs. Morgan, I am a huge fan of stand-up comedy and attend several on-going shows on a regular basis. You can watch 3 comedians deliver the exact same line and the audience will respond completely differently based on their delivery and energy, no question. The larger point in regard to Morgan is that you can REALLY tell - especially in a live performance - when a comedian turns the corner and the hatred overtakes the comedy. I have seen comedians get away with a LOT when going after a heckler or even just a group... but a different comedian saying the same thing would be seen as being a hateful racist.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 6/11/11 at 2:52pm

Yeah, I agree none of these examples are perfect analogies to another; I'm just saying stuff like this makes me think.

In the case of Sheen, though, what he was doing was actually against the law, what Morgan did was not.
Updated On: 6/11/11 at 02:52 PM

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 6/11/11 at 3:01pm

No one said it wasn't against the law, but those 'crimes' don't incite hatred or violence.. they are really just 'decency laws' in many ways, affect no one but him and those immediately around him. Morgan's tyrade was another matter.. inciting violence, feeding hatred, piled on top of things he has said in the past, and targeting children, a very at risk demographic (personally and politically). Very, very different things.

With performers, there is no such thing as a perfect analogy, but the argument still sits. $10 says that if Lampenelli or Silverman made a similar comment, their delievery would clearly dictate that it is humor and ultimately mocking people who actually feel that way, NOT ultimately attacking the children / gay men and lesbians... and it would be perfectly on base.

[romantico]

Posted: 6/11/11 at 3:33pm

'30 Rock's Tracy Morgan Wins International Award Amid Controversy.


http://www.deadline.com/2011/06/30-rocks-tracy-morgan-wins-international-award-amid-controversy/


I know the award and the timing and all was not planned but still. To win an award the day after you apologize for saying something so hateful just escapes me.

Updated On: 6/11/11 at 03:33 PM

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 6/11/11 at 3:40pm

No one said it wasn't against the law, but those 'crimes' don't incite hatred or violence.

One could argue that prostitution ain't exactly a great life for a woman.

$10 says that if Lampenelli or Silverman made a similar comment, their delievery would clearly dictate that it is humor and ultimately mocking people who actually feel that way, NOT ultimately attacking the children / gay men and lesbians... and it would be perfectly on base.

I think you're just saying that because you're a fan. Someone who didn't care for them would put ten bucks on the other side.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 6/11/11 at 3:57pm

One could, but that is, obviously, purely an opinion. Just as some women are forced into sex slavery, others chose the profession. It isn't your / our place to say what is or is not a great life for them, and raising the point deflects from the point of discussion.

Actually, no, I am not a Silverman fan. But I am not so shallow that I can't step outside the situation and observe and critique her delivery and performance style.

Stand-up comedy that isn't oriented toward young audiences, by it's nature, is politically incorrect. Perhas you simply have a distaste for politically incorrect humor. I do not know. But that shouldn't stop you from being able to observe and critique not WHAT was said, but HOW it was said and how the performer works. Lampenelli and Silerman, whether one likes them or not, are great at what they do and they know how to walk that fine line.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 6/11/11 at 4:04pm

Case in point regarding Lampenelli::
She is an insult comic. She makes it well known that she is an insult comic and she is equal opportunity. However, she also freely speaks of her love for black men, she does good work, she also can speak thoughtfully about others and recently, she went so far as to donate money to an LGBT for every protester from the Westboro Baptist Church that picketed outside her show. When WBT claimed they had MORE protestors, she met their number, and exceeded it, in donations.
Lampenelli makes it VERY clear that her act is her act and she is insult comic and she is not racist homphobe, not be her words, but by her actions.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 6/11/11 at 4:12pm

Well, like you said, it's purely opinion.

She is an insult comic. She makes it well known that she is an insult comic and she is equal opportunity.

Isn't that similar to what Tracy Morgan said in his apology?


Updated On: 6/11/11 at 04:12 PM

[tazber]

Posted: 6/11/11 at 4:23pm

Homophobic comedy is so pervasive these days that I'm never offended by it anymore. It's like white noise to me. It's so institutionalized in our current culture that I even find myself laughing at some of the "I'm not gay" moments in the Judd Apatow canon.

So, whatever Tracy. You're a douche and it's not even funny.

But what I do find very disturbing is the casual use of stabbing a child as a punch line. Regardless of what "minority" the child was in the joke, the stabbing line is not funny.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 6/11/11 at 4:41pm

I am disgusted and appalled by Tracy Morgan's homophobic rant. The devastating repercussions of hate-filled language manifest in very real ways for today's LGBTQ youth. I've known Tracy for two years, spent many long hours with him on set, and I want to believe that this behavior is not at the core of who he is. I'm incredibly disappointed by his actions, and hope that his apology is sincere.
Cheyenne Jackson "Appalled" By Tracy Morgan's Tirade

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 6/11/11 at 4:47pm

I demand a statement from Rachel Dratch immediately.

[ErikJ972]

Posted: 6/11/11 at 5:10pm

^LOL

And I can't stand Lisa Lampenelli. Insult comic or not.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 6/11/11 at 5:14pm

I can't stand her either, but I can see how the celebration of her comedy allows for something like this to happen. And I don't get how she's excused because she claims to be an "equal opportunity" offender, when Tracy Morgan or or less said the exact same thing.

All I know is that stuff like this makes me think, despite the claims how shallow my thinking seems to be.

[romantico]

Posted: 6/11/11 at 5:15pm

Wanda Sykes is the latest to chime in.

Hey, just back from family road trip. Ok, Tracy Morgan. Good thing I was busy because it would have been ugly, name calling. Pt. 1

Had time to think. Tracy is just a dumb comic. I fault the TN lawmakers. They've created an anti-gay environment. Pt2

Don't believe Tracy would be so ignorant in LA, because we have a mayor, a city council,and police chief who believes we are all equal. Pt3

I do believe in free speech, but for a youth in TN or any other numerous place, Tracy just yelled, 'Fire,' in a crowded theater.

Ok, piss'd reading, 'I don't want 2 live n a world where Tracy can't say' I Do! U Keep the world, just break me off an evolved country.

Tracy has the right to say whatever he wants to say, just like we have the right to say, not acceptable. WE as a country. We used to picnic to watch public hangings, but WE figured out,that was some sick ****. No, society does effect the comedy stage, that's why you don't see anymore white comics in blackface. And it's up to us if we laugh or walk out. This isn't about comedy. What Tracy said is dangerous. We r just trying to protect our kids. Peace and love!

http://twitter.com/#!/iamwandasykes

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 6/11/11 at 5:16pm

Because love her or hate her, Lampinelli doesn't advocate the killing or abuse of people (even as "comedy") like Morgan did.