Recently, Tracy Morgan has been getting a lot of flack for a performance in Nashville, Tennesee of all places, where the veteran comedian spoke on his son and homosexuality, saying if his son ever came home sounding effeminate he’d pull out a knife and stab him. Really, Tracy? Fortunately, Morgan came to his senses and met with LGBT teens this week. He will also be apologizing to the same Nashville crowd, and has stated:
“I know how bad bullying can hurt. I was bullied when I was a kid. I’m sorry for what I said. I didn’t mean it. I never want to use my comedy to hurt anyone. My family knew what it was like to feel different. My brother was disabled and I lost my father to AIDS in 1987. My dad wasn’t gay but I also learned about homophobia then because of how people treated people who were sick with that. Parents should support and love their kids no matter what. Gay people deserve the same right to be happy in this country as everyone else. Our laws should support that. I hope that my fans gay, straight, whatever forgive and I hope my family forgives me for this. I’m not a hateful person and don’t condone any kind of violence against others.”
GLAAD CEO Jarrett Barrios had this to share with Bossip:
Russell Simmons reached out over the weekend to see if we would have a call [with Tracy Morgan]. From the beginning we asked for a public apology and we asked for him to go beyond that apology. We asked him to meet with the parents of LGBT children who have been murdered, parents who lost their children to violence and homeless LGBT youth who had been kicked out by their own families, so he could understand the people who were harmed by his comments in Tennessee.
Kids are harmed by words everyday. LGBT kids who are harassed are 8.5 times more likely to commit suicide and 9 out of 10 LGBT kids in high school experience harassment every year. Those statistics are alarming and by having that conversation [with Morgan] we hope it will help him and others understand that words have great power. Words can make it worse or better and moving forward we hope he will agree and be supportive of LGBT youth. His words now can help and with greater understanding he can become an ally and make a difference for these people.
