Tracy Morgan apologizes for homophobic rant

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CNN
Tracy Morgan's character on the hit show "30 Rock" is often taken to task by his boss for insensitive remarks, and now the actor finds himself in hot water over homophobic remarks.

According to Jezebel, Morgan went into a rant during a comedy show on June 3 in Nashville, Tennessee, and reportedly made several anti-gay statements including saying "how he'd stab his son to death if he said he was gay."

The site links out to a note on the Facebook page of Kevin Rogers titled "Why I No Longer Like Tracy Morgan" in which Rogers details what he said happened at the show.

"The sad thing is that none of this rant was a joke," Rogers writes. "His entire demeanor changed during that portion of the night. He was truly filled with some hate towards us."

The venue where the show was held, Ryman Auditorium, issued the following statement to CNN regarding the incident:

“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.”

The Human Rights Campaign is the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization and issued a statement on Friday calling for action from both Morgan and his employer, NBC Universal.

“Hateful remarks that mock youth suicides and the very real emotional and sometimes physical bullying LGBT kids face on a daily basis have no place in a comedy routine,” the organization's vice president of communications, Fred Sainz, said. “I’m shocked that Tracy Morgan would find humor in so viciously attacking our youth. If these allegations are true, Tracy Morgan must immediately accept responsibility and apologize. His employer, NBC Universal, also must come forward and condemn these atrocious comments.”

Friday morning, Morgan did issue an apology. The actor and comedian said in a statement to CNN, “I want to apologize to my fans and the gay & lesbian community for my choice of words at my recent stand-up act in Nashville. I’m not a hateful person and don’t condone any kind of violence against others. 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.”

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