Over the last few days, everyone has been talking about Tracy Morgan and his deranged anti-gay rant during a show in Nashville Tennessee. This is not the first time we have heard some celebrity spew homophobic venom and it certainly won’t be the last. Comics sometimes tell jokes that are in very poor taste. It is what some of them have come to believe they have to do to get laughs, so when I first heard about the Tracy Morgan rant, I really wasn’t that surprised. I have never been a fan of his(not for any particular reason, just never got into him), so unlike some of his fans, I wasn’t disappointed in him, because I had no expectations. I was, however, disappointed that another black male public figure was being homophobic. I thought he ought to have known better, I mean it’s not like he just burst onto the scene, fresh from some little town in the middle of nowhere – he has been around a while. He should know better, so I thought.
Of course, like every other ignorant celebrity before him, he issued an apology(which just means his “people” told him to do so) and I watched and read the story unfold. I knew black celebrities would soon show their support for Tracy Dickwad Morgan. After all, he didn’t actually kill his son for being gay, he only threatened to do so. So what’s the big deal? We have shown our support for accused murderers and pedophiles who love watersports, so what’s a little homophobic threat of murderous stabbing? Chris Rock tweeted his support and then recanted it – apparently, he hadn’t read what actually happened before he first tweeted in support of Dickwad. Which brings me to the issue of misguided black solidarity. Why would a celebrity such as Chris Rock tweet support without getting the facts first?
As an oppressed people, we are so used to being persecuted that our gut reaction is to support every black man “in trouble”. Of course, Dickwad Morgan wasn’t in trouble, but his career might be, so let’s all rally around the poor brother homophobe, so that he doesn’t lose millions of dollars. With celebrity comes a certain responsibility and by showing support to Tracy, they are showing support for his crime, or at the very least minimizing it – in this case his words. Star Jones and Russell Simmons have also tweeted support for Dickwad. Star did say she knows what it feels like to be made fun of etc, but she knows his heart. Russell wants us to forgive him – apparently Tracy loves everyone and cried all night. Aww, poor Dickwad! Of course he cried all night, he’s scared he might be fired. By the way, Russell, nobody loves everyone, that’s such a syrupy, blanket statement, it negates everything. Russell loves to tweet and use the phrase #realtalk , so this is real talk. Last time I checked, Mr Morgan wasn’t Jesus – how could he possibly love everyone? It is so pitiful, not to mention patronizing, when people(obviously living in fantasy land) try to fool the intellectually challenged(because they are certainly not fooling me). Star says Tracy was there for her, when she needed him. I don’t doubt that, but what has that got to do with him being homophobic? Even Hitler had some friends – so just because he was nice to you doesn’t mean he can’t be anti-gay. I know they mean well and Russell is all zen these days, but just as Tracy is learning, we all have to be accountable for our words and actions. I am not suggesting anyone kick his ass, but he should certainly be made to pay financially.
For those of you who don’t know exactly what he said at the show, here are some excerpts from an audience member. As black people, we need to resist the understandable temptation to show support for every brother, who appears to be under “attack by the man”. This is not the time for misguided black solidarity. Wrong is wrong! What do we look like always rallying behind black public figures, even when they are obviously in the wrong? R. Kelly, O.J. Simpson(allegedly lol), the homophobic NFL player du jour, Tracy Morgan, who is next?
Kevin Rogers was at the show: I figured at some point the gay jokes would fly and I’m well prepared for a good ribbing of straight gay humor. I have very thick skin when it comes to humor; I can dish and I can take. What I can’t take is when Mr. Morgan took it upon himself to mention about how he feels all this gay shit was crazy and that women are a gift from God and that “Born this Way” is bullshit, gay is a choice, and the reason he knows this is exactly because “God don’t make no mistakes” (referring to God not making someone gay cause that would be a mistake). He said that there is no way a woman could love and have sexual desire for another woman, that’s just a woman pretending because she hates a f**ing man. He took time to visit the bullshit of this bullying stuff and informed us that the gays needed to quit being pussies and not be whining about something as insignificant as bullying. He mentioned that gay was something kids learn from the media and programming, and that bullied kids should just bust some ass and beat those other little f*ers that bully them, not whine about it. He said if his son that was gay he better come home and talk to him like a man and not [he mimicked a gay, high pitched voice] or he would pull out a knife and stab that little N (one word I refuse to use) to death. The sad thing is that none of this rant was a joke. His entire demeanor changed during that portion of the night. He was truly filled with some hate towards us. As far as I could see 10 to 15 people walked out. Read the full story here
As I said, I’m not disappointed in him personally, because I was never a fan. I don’t know much about him, but he seems slightly off – he does have a certain glint in his eyes, so maybe he forgot to take his meds. I’m not making fun of mental illness here, just stating that it might be an issue and if that’s the case, then we might have to forgive him sooner than we normally would(but not just yet). What I can’t stomach is this need some black people(not just celebrities) have to show support for the likes of Tracy Morgan. It is particularly disturbing, considering the effects homophobia has had on the black community, of which I am sure his black celebrity buddies are aware. Colleagues like Tina Fey, whilst stating that she had never known him to be hateful, did make it quite clear that she found the violent imagery disturbing, especially in these times of homophobic hate crimes. Now, that’s a sensible, balanced statement. If you want to show some black solidarity, go do some good work for the community, help raise money for after school programs for our kids, become actively involved in the fight against HIV and AIDS, go talk to girls in high schools and make them understand why having 3 baby daddies is not a good idea. Hell, just be there for your own kids and maybe a neighbor. Do whatever you can, but don’t support anyone who goes off on a homophobic rant like Tracy Morgan. Yes he had his rant and now I’m having mine – I just couldn’t take it anymore.
Should Tracy Morgan Be Fired, What Do You Think? Leave Comments Below
I know there are black gay men out there, who have also been quick to defend him – “he was only joking, that’s what comics do” etc. We need to think very carefully about the artists and celebrities we support and what that says about us. As they say, we need to learn to vote with our pocketbooks. Sometimes, we also buy into all this madness and homophobia in an attempt to fit in, or seem like a cooler, more macho “gay”. Get over it, to homophobes, you are still gay. I can take a joke just like the next guy and I do have a twisted sense of humor – the man was NOT joking, he was full of hate. As I said, it might have been a chemical imbalance(on account of that certain glint in his eyes), but if that was the case, then what is your excuse? We all deserve a second chance, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have to pay for messing up to begin with. It is just not authentic for someone to be genuinely sorry so soon after such a homophobic outburst. That kind of homophobia is usually deep-seated. He might be sorry now for offending the LGBT community(because it has thrust him into the spotlight in a less than favorable way), but would he be sorry without the backlash and threat of possibly losing his job and fans? Sometimes, instead of misguided black solidarity, it would be much better if some of us just kept quiet.
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Well said! Some of us are to quick to do the black solidarity thing. Chris Rock should have read the facts 1st, but at least he took back what he said(as they do). Uncle Russell just needs to sit down and get real #realtalk lol. This is not and shouldn’t be about friendship, how he has treated u or blackness. Tracy Morgan went WAY too far and should be fired from 30 Rock. As far as Star is concerned – she’s just being a dizzy lawyer. Mass murderers have been there for someone too – duh???
Sad that in 2011 we still have dudes like Tracy saying such things.
BTW, sometimes the passion in your writing is so hot LOL
Why is it that a lot of us don’t seem to get the concept of hitting them where it hurts or “voting with our pocketbooks”?
We need to stop supporting homophobes – regardless of race!
Celebs supporting this loser are dumb as hell. Used to watch 30 Rock – won’t be doing that any more until Tracy is GONE!
Great article man, love how it is peppered with sarcasm! Just found the blog on Facebook and glad I did.
Gotta admit, at first, I was like “why are they being so hard on the brother? it’s comedy”, but now that I know the facts, I’m like Chris Rock, I’m recanting lol.
A lot of us do tend to want to show black solidarity without knowing the facts or really thinking about what was said or done. Homophobia is so deeply embedded into our culture and psyche, it makes it difficult to walk this path as a black gay man.
Boycott Tracy Morgan!
Aww Ms Tracey done lost her mind!
My bad, I couldn’t resist that.
For real, I heard he said some homophobic stuff, but didn’t realize how bad til I read this article. It’s ridiculous that black celebrities, comic or not, think they can come out with such BS in 2011. Not to mention stupid as hell.
If a white person uses the “N” word or says “nappy headed hoez” we get all crazy. Inciting hatred is NEVER acceptable. Star, Russell and the others just need to hush.
Tracy Morgan, you are the weakest link, GOODBYE!
I love all kinds of jokes, but this ain’t no joke.
What is his problem?
Black men complain they can’t catch a break and then when they do, ignorant mofos like this wanna throw it all away and disgrace us.
I ain’t even got nothing to say about Russell, Star and other celebs – if you ain’t gonna say the right thing, don’t weigh in, especially on public forums like Twitter. Money can’t buy you common sense.
Go back to whatever cave you crawled out of Tracy Morgan! You are a disgrace to Brooklyn, New York and the entire black race.
Dickwad is a nice name for this trashbox!
Dude just mad coz his momma named him Tracey! Don’t take it out on gay folk shawty, call yo momma. Lemme find out Tracy Morgan is on the downlow……..
Nah, for real, this is really messed up. I enjoy gay jokes, black jokes and all kinds of jokes, but this is ridiculous. Even if he was on crack or didn’t take his meds(I thought I was the only one who noticed them eyes), there must be some deep hatred or self-hatred going on inside. Dude needs help and the biggest help of all would be no more paychecks from NBC.
Star, Russell, Chris and whoever else – y’all trippin! #realtalk
LMAO at some of these comments!
Supporting Tracy Morgan, as a black gay man, is as dumb as black people supporting the KKK. That was full of hatred and to say he would stab his own son to death, that’s just too much. We ain’t even talking about the stuff about lesbians and bullying.
Celebs are sometimes talented, often wealthy, but that don’t mean they are smart. They need to stop tweeting support – must be all those drugs they take done fried their brains.
Tracy Morgan needs some new “people” – they shoulda made sure he took those meds, or set up an appointment so he can get some.
FIRE HIS HOMOPHOBIC ASS!
Why hasn’t he been fired yet?
Now he is bringing up the fact that his dad died of AIDS and going with GLAAD to TN to speak to some families etc. He should still be fired!
He knew his dad died of AIDS when he was spewing all that hate, so he should have a better understanding of prejudice and stigma.
Now he is going to support every LGBT cause – it is SO FAKE and obviously his publicist is working overtime.
What because he is black he gets a pass? Black gay men and the black community have suffered so much from homophobia. This should not be accepted. A smack on the wrist is not enough, hit him where it hurts and FIRE HIM!
To be honest, first I thought why is the gay mafia always trying to bring a brother down. That was my initial reaction, coz I’m used to hardcore comedy. Then the more I read about it, the more I realized how serious it was. If I was a celebrity I would be keeping my mouth shut right about now, or speaking out against it.
Should he be fired? I don’t know. I can see why people want him fired though. Maybe if it seemed like his apology was sincere, I’d say a definite no, let’s give the man a chance. But you can’t go from a crazy homophobic rant one day to champion of gay rights the next. Maybe NBC could give half a season’s pay to LGBT charities, or something. I’m tryna be nice, in case dude got some mental issues.
If you paid to attend a play about black history,when the curtin opens and the entire cast is white and the agenda of the play was hidden from playbills only to reveal a KKK mantality,with a light sprinkle A.A justice in the story line… People would say,”This is not what I paid for,I dont want to pay to hear how much my race is hated in this world?!”
There are forums for the Ideology and rants like Tracey Morgans, to sell tickets to his show who’s subject is “COMEDY” and to not think there wouldnt be gay people or people who love gay people attending shows his intension was to change minds to favor what he is feeling. Then to state “I Don’t care if you gays will hate me!” Many comedians have those serious moments when they want to incite a provokative thought. However thats has been done in a more Humanatarian effort. A Comedy show isnt a place where people learn to hate and be intolerant. Tracey should have just had a forum. ” HATE HOMO’s” Then there wouldnt be this backlash,becasue the people who are attending are more hthan likely going to support what is being preached. To sneak that venom into a show was under handed and sneaky.Deceit has nothing to do with Mental Ilness,the man got paid to speak like that, doesnt anyone see this?
One of the things I hate the most about gay right organizations are: 1) They cater,benefit and profit from public figures who reveal their true selves only to “Recant” for fear of losing,livelyhood,power and influence.
2) They are only really visiable & good at organzing protest that invovle a murder,omly to quickly fade into the background until the next tragedy,then they use that to raise money. Mathew Shepadrd is a great example of that. Can anyone name anything really benefical that came from all that public outcry? Besides the prosecution of the murders?
Chris Rock is “good” friends with Tracey right? Before I posted anything publicly about a “good” friend it would make sense to talk to that friend first then post a comment on a social site,so atleast I can stand by what I said ,why? becasue I heard you say this and that myself! Doesnt Chris have a phone? Because of the internet human beings are lacking social Etiquette. Your no friend of mine if you cant confront me about an issue first before posting a blind sided comment on the “netmosphere”
Has anyone though about that (femguy) white chareter thats the “secret-ary”? Even though his charater never says he is gay,its percieved,and Tracey would stab a son that would be like him, “talk to me in a mans voice and a gay voice!” What is he saying about his cast mate? He has a gay voice does he not? Does he not remind anyone of someone they know to be gay? The white guy..whats his name?
I really thought I was the only black person in the world that sensed and saw in his face, that OJ murdered those people. Then, that event made me more aware of how many blacks really do rally for the negative and outragous when it comes to black celebs. We did more opressing towards our overall image back then than anything I have seen in the history of media. Thay had a feild day piting black against whites in a murder that had nothing to do with race,but extreme narcissism!
Star Jones: When she was a court reporter I had great repect and admoration for her,then she hit the view.. and I saw how shallow and materiallistic and down right arougant she was and hated her from then on. She is a …” Im going to be whatever channel you want me to be” now that her true self was shown on the View,she really wants to try to clean up her self centered image,and supporting a bigot to try to appear as if she empathizes, “I know his heart” OK then he is like you are then,fake as fake can be.
People have a right to express what they feel about things they dont like,however in this world today when people believe and act on things they see and hear concerning media, Black celebes should be more conscious because,amagin how many gay black men are being affected by their white bosses in support of getting rid of the “black-fag” on the job. Tracey should have thought, “are there any relatives of mine that are gay that might be affected negatively by my rant?
Everyone who commented had great respones and I enjoyed reading them,its good to know how intellegent the poeple are that commented with such humour and subtance. I hope this blog grows… Black Orphus…
While I do not think anyone should support Morgan’s homophobic screed, we should not be under any illusion that there are not white gay bigots who will use this sort of incident as an excuse to attack all blacks. I spent the weekend on several gay white blogs while doing other things. Amongst the comments would could find included “Blacks should know better,” Morgan is the reason that people feel they can be racist against blacks and “we should not have marched with them in the 60s.” Those are the nicer ones. Some go into full own racist territory of referring to us as the n word or making racist stereotypes. I also remind you that Morgan does shock comedy. In the same skit, he said he would stab his n-children too. The point here is not to justify Morgan. He’s an idiot in my book and his joke was homophobic. The point here is to get you to not do the normal, pardon the pun, thing in America of turning this into a black or white issue. There are reasons black people circle the wagons. We realize there are a lot of racists out there who use moments like this to say what they were thinking.
Agree, it is not a black or white issue, it is an issue or recklessness and homophobia. I have also read some of the racist comments on blogs and that’s the more reason why black public figures need to watch what they say(and not be seen to be supporting homophobes, which some racists use as an excuse to tar us all with the same brush). In an ideal world, individual statements would be seen as just that, but unfortunately we don’t live in an ideal world and there are many just waiting to try and turn situations like this into “all blacks are violent and homophobic” etc.
As far as shock comedy goes, like anything else, comedy also has to evolve. I’m sure back in the day, jokes about coloreds(being polite) being lynched were acceptable. Maybe, the good thing that will come out of this is that comedians will have to rethink some of their shock comedy routines.
I meant to reply to rabitts comment about the excuse of shock comedy.
I dissagree with “Shock comedy” being associated in the busniess I can say this, Any performer and snese the energy in the room,rather a joke is good or not. The nergy in that room changed,and as a professional he should have took that moment as a “que” to re-adjust that energy. As I said,there are thsoe moments when they touch on soemthing real to them,and there isnt a laugh but a silience,that mood is in relation to “Empathy”. That wasnt the kind of sileence he got in that room that night.
As far as racist,trust me,they dont use blacks for advertising,but minimizing. They rally reguardless,look at the tea party moment.
I agree that Tracey is an idiot! and also,he lacks professionalism as a performer.
With all we have been through as black people and our history with racism, black celebs and public figures always look bad when they are homophobic. It’s funny how we as black people get embarrassed by the actions of other black individuals. I guess that’s the legacy of racism and oppression.
I felt so uncomfortable at work when my white colleagues were talking about this Tracy issue and the fact that Chris Rock supported him. It was like they were asking why are you all so homophobic? I’m not out at work(in Jamaica), but I felt like screaming I’m not only not homophobic, but I’m gay, so Tracy Morgan’s words hurt me personally too.
Sad that in 2011 we are still dealing with all this. As you all know we deal with this daily in Jamaica and it often makes me want to pack my bags and head back to NYC. So, when a black celeb from NYC comes out with stuff like this it makes so many black gay men all over the world feel like the situation is hopeless Of course, I know NYC is still a thousand times more gay friendly, I’m referring to those here who dream of escaping to New York to be FREE..
He should be fired, but I don’t think he will be.
I really feel you on this………
see what sociaty can force a person to hide?
why was my response delete? If that’s how this site works? Please let.
It wasn’t deleted, it just wasn’t approved. This, like most blogs, is a moderated blog. I didn’t want to turn this into a debate about race, or the use of the “N” word, as I explained in the email to you. Most blogs don’t email you when your comment is not approved, but I did, because I appreciate your input
I agree storm,its your right to want a certain direction in “Your blog” because it is yours. Would you go into someone hosue for the first time and rearrange thier living room in a patteren they arent comfortable with? No,a blog is someone else space who “owns” it.
The most disturbing thing about Morgan’s rant is that there were probably individuals in the audience that jeered, laughed and applauded him. Rants like these shouldn’t be accepted nor supported and I’m glad someone took the initiative to expose it because I’m sure there have been other shows with things said that persons just ignored. Personally I don’t think the man needs to lose his job but I do think there should be consequences for his actions.
Whenever you have people that havent suffered in childhood nor adult hood from out right hatred because he is percieved as gay,its very easy to want to bond with people that represent the same untainted childhood as yourself.
Jarrett Barrios,is a masculine str8 actting gay man,as seen on TV. Many men like him have never stood out in schools for acting like sissies or butch boys. Jarret was closeted before he ever came out. What is the one eleiment that gay men like this have in common when they are closeted? They join the frey to detract attension from their own homosexuality by igniting the name calling. I had two bullies schools when I was growing up… today those bullies are masculine str8 actting gay men. Its easy for Jarrett to rally behind Tracey so he can confront youth that have been bullied and teased. Jarrett might have been one of thsoe bullies in school.
If celeb made a statement advocating pedifilia, no parent in this country would want someone like that talking to victims of sexual abuse. But Jerrette sees this opportunity (Making people aware) Why subject youth who have been villified and rejected from families to someone that would incite to MURDER HIS FEM GAY SON,if he had one.
This is a real problem in the gay community, many gay men that “blend in” consider guys like me drama queens…(sterotype) Why? We are used to fighting for respect. Im not surprized a masculine man heads Gladd. However I think they tend to be more insensitive to the gay struggle when it comes to fem guys. “He shouldnt be sounding like that or he wouldnt have gotten his ass beat!” I have heard this from masculine gay men.. Im telling you they wont be satisfied til we are whipped off the map. Im not refering to those “rare” masculine gya men,who when they hear gay slurs they dont add to it,they argue about it. But I think they are very samll numbers.. This blog tells me that also by the responses towards fem guys.
If I could help the way I act and sound,Id be like them,but this behavior is not in my nature… When my friends laugh out loud when I pretend to be butch,that tells me there, that actting masculine is something that isnt in my DNA. I still think they are potentially the most dangerous homosexuals.( I could tell you stories about the Captital buildings bathrooms when I was a page.) Jerrett proves this by reaching out to a homophobe,and making it sound like its the right thing to do…
You dont hear NAACP rally towards racist that are in power. Yet “Masculine Gladd” wants to try to “blend in” to make the issue “invisible’. OUTRAGOUS!
Just to be clear, Black Orphus is referring to the President of GLAAD, Jarret Barrios, and the fact that Tracy Morgan is joining forces with GLAAD to speak to members of the LGBT community and their families, as well as film a PSA etc etc. Thought I would make it clear, because many would probably have no clue what Black Orphus is talking about.