Louis C.K. was always one of those comedy names I was vaguely aware of but nothing had heretofore compelled me to pay attention. Apparently I wasn’t missing anything:
Hilarious to whom? I mean, what person with a developed sense of humor found Tracy Morgan’s tirade funny? That was precisely the problem, and what [apparently] better comedians than Louis C.K. immediately understood. I mean, even Chris Rock got it, and apparently Chris is Louis’ former boss. Maybe Chris could clear up his confusion.
UPDATE: Commenter Alonzo points out that Louis C.K. indeed does have a history of grasping these kinds of issues, and provided this handy little graphic with a great quote from the comedian:
Which leads me to ask again: What about what happened with Tracy Morgan is so complicated that Louis doesn’t get it? The problem. Was. That the rant. Was not part. Of the comedy. Routine.
I have made the point repeatedly throughout this situation, that this has absolutely nothing to do with the content of comedy routines. I indeed told another commenter directly that I believe that there should be no topic off limits for comedians. The only ground rule is that, if you’re going to be super-offensive, you should also be, you know, FUNNY. This was more of a Michael Richards meltdown situation, i.e. not comedy.
When I broke the story of Tracy Morgan’s anti-gay meltdown the other day, I had a very circumspect moment just beforehand where I verified, with the original source and with my own sense of comedy, that this was an indeed a case of Morgan going over and above, beyond the realm of actual comedy, and into a simple hate-laced tirade. People who know me well know that I have absolutely no filter, and that I enjoy extremely offensive comedy, as long as it is funny. Indeed, when I remember to, I actually write for a political humor website which has, um, been known to offend in its time.
When the story started to go viral on Friday, I was very interested to see how other comedy people would react. I mentioned that day that Gabe at the hilarious, wonderful site Videogum was fairly disgusted by the reports. My sense that my gut feelings in breaking this story were correct are further confirmed by comedienne Wanda Sykes’ reaction to the whole ordeal. She spoke out on Twitter, several times:
“Hey, just back from family road trip. Ok, Tracy Morgan. Good thing I was busy because it would have been ugly, name calling. Pt. 1?
“Had time to think. Tracy is just a dumb comic. I fault the TN lawmakers. They’ve created an anti-?gay environment. Pt2”
“Don’t believe Tracy would be so ignorant in LA, because we have a mayor, a city council,and police chief who believes we are all equal. Pt3”
“I do believe in free speech, but for a youth in TN or any other numerous place, Tracy just yelled, “Fire,” in a crowded theater.”
“I dont know about you, but I dont want to live in world where Tracy Morgan cant say foul inappropriate shit.”
The general sentiments of that statement, I agree with. But Rock amended his statement when he learned more about what Tracy had actually said:
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.
Since this story broke, there have been people leaving comments here and elsewhere, mostly in all caps and featuring misspelled words, that “dude itz comedy can’t take a joke don’t like it shut up.” [That's a general paraphrase of every single comment along those lines.] It’s refreshing to hear from actual, respected comedians who very much understand why this was not okay. No one’s freedom of speech was threatened in this incident. My hope is that this becomes a teachable moment, for Tracy and for everyone else. To Chris Rock, I say that I don’t want to live in a world where any good comedian can’t say foul, inappropriate shit. I just want it to be funny. And maybe Tracy is learning a hard lesson right now, if this account is to be believed. We hope so.
Tracy Morgan has apologized for, and thus confirmed, the anti-gay meltdown he had in Nashville onstage at the Ryman Auditorium:
“I want to apologize to my fans and the gay and 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.”
We at Truth Wins Out appreciate Tracy’s apology. We are glad that he recognizes that he hurt and offended people. However, questions remain. When Michael Richards and Mel Gibson had their respective meltdowns, people rightly asked where those sentiments actually came from. And the fact of the matter is, parts of Tracy’s Nashville rant have appeared in earlier performances.
So we wonder: Where do Tracy Morgan’s anti-gay sentiments come from? What leads him to go only so far with anti-gay sentiments and then suddenly let loose with one of the most vicious tirades imaginable? Does he understand why people — LGBT or not, in Tennessee and beyond — were so hurt by what he said?
Again, we appreciate that he recognized a need to come forward and apologize. But is the damage already done? Tracy Morgan should be an “equal-opportunity jokester.” Sarah Silverman, Lisa Lampanelli and Zack Galiafanakis are. Richard Pryor certainly was. In this case, though, there still seems to be a certain animus involved, as well as a pattern, that we don’t quite understand. Will this be the last time Tracy Morgan makes the news for unleashing anger against gay people? We certainly hope so, but only Tracy Morgan can effectively answer these questions.
So the part about homosexuality being a choice was also featured in Tracy Morgan’s 2009 Carnegie Hall show, you know, the one that people walked out of because it was homophobic.
It turns out that one of the choice lines from Kevin Rogers’ account of the June 3 show at the Ryman Auditorium was also featured in Morgan’s HBO special. This comes via a commenter at the humor site Videogum:
well, he did the “they can take a dick, they can take a joke” line in his HBO special….can’t remember the material he did around it but it was IFFY at best. you could kinda tell that it wasn’t “i’m telling jokes” and was more “this is what i really think” so i too am not really surprised.
The thing about comedy is that it sort of needs to be funny. I know, I know, I’m setting a high bar here. Lots of comedians are highly offensive. But they manage to be funny at the same time, if they’re talented.
I mentioned Videogum just above. It’s a humor blog, and it’s one of my very, very favorite websites on the entire internet. Gabe is one of the funniest writers I have ever had the privilege to read, and he writes offensive stuff all the time. Thing is, Gabe is, again, funny. Guess what, though? He’s pretty grossed out by these allegations. And he’s anticipating what the response might be when it finally happens:
EEEEEEEEEEEEK! That is me, jumping on a table and shrieking. “KILL IT, DANNY! KILL IT!” (I don’t know who Danny is, but I would rather he have to deal with this situation. Too gross!) Obviously, uh, this is pretty unacceptable. I’m sure it was a GREAT SHOW because it sounds VERY FUNNY (JUST KIDDING I am BEING SARCASTIC) but as far as the politics of it goes: painfully reprehensible. And I bet you five hard-earned Disney Bucks that when Tracy Morgan is forced to publicly confront this and apologize, his defense will be that he is a comedian and that he was telling jokes at a comedy show. Man oh man. As someone who loves comedians and jokes and comedy shows, I sure hate that defense!
Me too, Gabe! Gabe actually had a long-running theme on Videogum called the “Tracy Morgan Promise,” which was basically that he would attempt to bring his readers every clip he possibly could of Tracy. Videogum’s pretty widely read, y’all. I say that he “had” a long-running theme because this incident has caused Gabe to end the “Tracy Morgan Promise.” Probably a wise decision. You can read his explanation of that at the first Videogum link I provided.
I’m a big proponent of the “But Is It Funny?” rule of comedy, which I just made up: Something can be completely over the line, so far across the line that you didn’t know a space existed that far, but is it funny? Sarah Silverman, in her best moments, is a master of this. She’ll shock you to your core, but despite your better intentions, you’re still laughing. Several years back there was a short-lived show called Wonder Showzen which was so offensive that it often left my jaw nailed to the floor, but damn, those writers were talented. A lot of people are up in arms about this skit from Saturday Night Live this past weekend:
When I first saw it, a couple of my friends were with me, and there were a couple of cheap laughs, but we said “People are going to be PISSED about that tomorrow.” I contend that if there were something truly creative about the sketch, people wouldn’t be quite as angry, because despite their better intentions, people would be laughing. But, um, ha ha ha, lady with facial hair in dress? That has been done, so many times, and it wasn’t that creative to begin with.
But people definitely are pissed off, and I get it. What I find strange is that this is not 1970′s Saturday Night Live. If you grew up watching that era of SNL, as I did, courtesy of my parents, you know that back in the day, that show had the capacity to be offensive. But they got away with it, because their casts were made up of such brilliant comedians that no matter who or what group was the butt of the current joke, everyone was laughing.
Comedy writers: pushing the envelope doesn’t work unless you’re funny. And I can’t imagine how this even qualifies as “pushing the envelope,” since it’s such a tired joke.
So, SNL, you have failed, try again.
Pam has a compilation of reactions to this sketch from the various LGBT organizations, so click over if you want to read.
She was apparently grown in Joseph Farah’s backyard from a single stray hair from Molotov Mitchell‘s grit ‘stache!
She styles herself as a “comedienne,” but, as usual with wingnuts, without the laugh track there would be utter silence in the room. Her contention is that “homosexuality is a mental disorder,” so let’s find out why “D.J.” thinks so. Oh wait what? Molotov Mitchell wrote it? She’s just reading lines? Okay, let’s find out why Molotov Mitchell thinks gayness is a mental disorder. Again. (Read More)
Omighaa, you guys, this guy is totally not gay anymore, and he’s going to tell you all about it!
Choire Sicha posted this at The Awl with the description, “Former Gay Speaks (Well, Lisps) Against Gayness…WHILE WEARING AN ASCOT.”
Yes, Choire, yes, he does.
In case you can’t watch it, here is a live-blog:
0-0:30: He talks like Jan Hooks’ character on SNL in that sketch about Southern women where they would repeat “Oh, that’s greeeeat. She’s GREEEAT, oh, that’s GREEEEEEEAT!”, except instead of that, he’s shaking his head and saying “They’re kicking against GOOOOOOD, it’s an abomination, y’all!”
0:35: Girlfriend it is such a sin to be gay!
1:00: Is that an ascot or one of those terr’ist headscarves Rachael Ray wore a couple of years ago, the one that caused Michelle Malkin to go on a deranged rampage against Dunkin’ Donuts?
1:18: Girlfriend, sometimes God just has to CRACK THAT WHIP!
1:41: “Plumbline” is where we need to be with the word of God. “Plumbline,” said the gay man with the scarf who is not gay.
1:45: ALL ANGRY NOW, “Homosexuals will be damned to hell and RIGHTLY SO!” He is so angry that he banged his jazz hands together for emphasis!
1:50: Gays should be quarantined because otherwise we will try to bring gangrene into heaven! And then God was all “Oh no you diiiii-int!”
2:00-2:10: Lots of panting as he says “God” and “Yes” over and over again. This guy has the HOTS for God.
2:30-3:00: All gays have no fathers. No fathers have all gays. Homosexuality is the worst depravity, OMG, the worst.
3:00-3:25: A whole section, screencapped above, where he uses his descriptive hands to show everybody what it looks like to be in a cage, trying to fondlecup GRASP one’s own true identity, but, like Tantalus with two low hanging grapes…
3:25: This guy, Adam Hood, went so far as to be pleasured by homosexual sex! Sex should not be fun, says fundamentalists! Sex should be like a chore, only to be done with the lights off, with people to whom you are not attracted!
3:45-4:15ish: A whole section where the guy tries just a little bit too hard to explain why gay sex is OMG gross. Around 4:12 he accidentally shifts from an “ewwwww, so dirty” face to a “purrrrrrr, so dirty” face, but he catches himself.
And that’s it!
Everybody place your bets in the “When will Adam Hood fall off the wagon into a pile of men?” lottery. My money is on “Sometime next Tuesday.”
UPDATE: If you have the stomach for more crazy from Adam Hood, here’s his conversion video, which includes the following quote:
“Martyr me for Jesus, I mean, I want it! In God’s timing, you know! But far be it from me to ever bow to the intimidation of the spirit of this age, or be ashamed of the Gospel. OH HELL NO.” Here, he actually snaps his Not Gay fingers. Then, from 5:50 to the end or so, is one of the most special things I have ever witnessed, as he, insanely, talks about his wedding night with the foolish girl he married. I can’t even describe it.
Jamie Kilstein is one of my very favorite comedians. He and his wife Allison Kilkenny (who I link here from time to time) run Citizen Radio, and they’re one of the few duos I’ve seen who truly bridge the gap between politics and comedy, without either side suffering. Jamie’s insanely funny, but he actually knows his stuff. And if he doesn’t, he can always ask Allison, because she’s scary smart.
ANYWAY.
The other night, Jamie performed in Chicago, and he just cold went off on Rick Warren, Ted Haggard, anti-gay fundamentalist bigots, and made one of the boldest, most raw arguments for LGBT equality I’ve ever seen.
So! You should watch it. But not at work. Unless you have headphones. Because it’s, as Jamie just said on his Facebook wall, “beyond offensive.”
So here’s your warning, in red, in case you missed the last paragraph:
DIRTY LANGUAGE IS AHEAD!!!
Okay, that all clear? Oh, and handling the objection before I get it, in the parts where Jamie’s talking about God, we should all remember that the construction is “IF God is like they say, THEN we should…”
“Crystal Christian” is an exciting new play with music that examines the million-dollar therapy industry of the so-called ex-gay ministries. The play itself attempts to tackle the misuse of the word unnatural in regards to sexual diversity, as well as indict the questionable methods of the ex-gay ministries’ ‘reparative therapy’. The play finds hypocrisy swarming inside the evangelical pageant, where shame is a virus. It would be hysterical if it weren’t so horrifying.
The Magic Theatre has offered to host First Sprout Theatre for a week-long workshop in mid-August that will culminate in three shows over the weekend of August 15-17, 2008 at the Magic Theatre Northside Space, Fort Mason Center, Building D.
August 15th – 8pm
August 16th – 8pm
August 17th – 2:30 pm
Tickets are ten dollars, cash only at the door of the Magic Theatre’s Northside Space. Every show is two for the price of one. Please email: firstsprout@gmail.com, to reserve seats for any of the three performances.
Ex-gay survivor and performance artist Peterson Toscano writes about the upcoming final performance of his one-man show, “Doin’ Time in the Homo No Mo Halfway House.”
The play, based on his experiences in Exodus’ ex-gay live-in program “Love In Action,” will be performed Friday, April 25, at the Tusten Theatre in Narrowsburg, N.Y.
Ex-gay survivor and performance artist Peterson Toscano 
