After most of the world, including his 30 Rock co-star Tina Fey, pounced on comedian Tracy Morgan for his violent, homophobic routine at a recent show in Nashville, Chris Rock took to Twitter on Friday evening to defend Morgan's right to free speech and artistic integrity. He Tweeted: "I don't know about you but I don't want to live in world where Tracy Morgan cant say fail inappropriate shit." It didn't take long for GLAAD to chastise Rock for his defense, shooting back via Twitter, "Language about stabbing kids for being gay isn't 'foul.' It's dangerous." Now, Rock himself is backpedaling.
In an extended Tweet earlier this morning that he continued on his website, Rock explained his evolution on his opinions of Morgan's words:
Tracy morgan is a tad off we all know that so when tracy says something i usually don't take it anymore serious than i would a statement from gary busey or flavor flav .when i first heard the statement i thought it was offensive but it also reminded me of my father saying ill kill you if you ever bring home a white girl but after reading everything tracy said . wow i get it that shit wasn't called for and i don't support it at all. now can i please go to the tony awards without getting my ass kicked .
Openly gay comedian Wanda Sykes condemned Morgan's actions via her Twitter account, calling him a "dumb comic" and blaming Tennessee's "anti-gay environment" for accepting such comments. In response to Rock's "I don't want to live in a world" Tweet, she writes "I Do! U Keep the world just break me off an evolved country."
Should comedians have to apologize for their words if some people deem it as hate speech? Or should their acts be viewed in an artistic vacuum, and as such not representative of who they are? At least Morgan's act had more context than simply screaming the N-word at an audience.
