Yesterday a serious Tracy Morgan delivered a personal apology to audience members in Tennessee who were offended by his anti-gay remarks during a comedy event at The Ryman Auditorium earlier this month.
According to Yahoo News, Tracy Morgan returned to Tennessee yesterday to meet with gay rights advocates as well as audience members who were offended by his rant. Kevin Rogers was among the audience members who didn’t take kindly to Morgan’s remarks. After the show, Rogers reported the incident via Facebook to nearly 1,500 friends. The post ended up bringing real attention to the comedian’s commentary.
After meeting with gay rights advocates as well as audience members, Morgan held a news conference at the Nashville Convention Center yesterday. During the conference Morgan told reporters “I don’t have a hateful bone in my body. I don’t believe that people should be bullied or just made to feel bad about who they are. I totally feel that in my heart.”
The press conference lasted about five minutes. At the conclusion Morgan hugged the Facebook commenter, Rogers, before exiting the room. Rogers felt the comedian’s apology seemed heartfelt.
Before the press conference in Tennessee Morgan met with homeless lesbian and gay youth this past Friday in New York City and agreed to the conference upon request from the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation President Jarrett Barrios.
Morgan has always been known for his wacky, outrageous, and somewhat unpredictable style of comedy. In the past he has used homosexual themes without any public outcry but Morgan realizes that this time he went too far. During his comedy routine on June 3 Morgan joked that if his son turned out to be gay he would “pull out a knife and stab him,” among several other anti-gay remarks.
Morgan admitted to advocates of gay rights and members of the audience during the press conference that he even had family members scold him for his comments. He also noted that he often improvises during his stand-up routines and he realized soon after making the remarks that he had gone too far. Morgan stated “I don’t really see gay or straight. I see human beings now.”
