Salon.com > Tracy Morgan

America’s misguided war on offensive humor

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 16:15:00 +0000

Paul Provenza knows what makes comedians laugh. He is, after all, the director of 2005's "The Aristocrats," the ultimate behind-the-scenes look at the blue jokes that get seasoned veterans chuckling. His program on Showtime, "The Green Room With Paul Provenza," premieres its second season this Thursday. It's a sort of comedy version of "Inside the Actor's Studio" with Paul as James Lipton and a roundtable of funny people that can include anyone from Penn Jillette, Eddie Izzard and Bo Burnham to the Smother Brothers.

Decades of the stand-up circuit and green-room jokes have given Paul a unique angle on the recent trouble that has plagued comedians like Tracy Morgan and Gilbert Gottfried. When I sat down with Paul, he had a different take on "offensive humor" than you'll find among most people. But then again, Paul does have a warning before his shows that amounts to "If you get offended easily, don't stick around."

Tracy Morgan to apologize for remarks in Nashville

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 10:41:00 +0000

Comedian Tracy Morgan was in Nashville, Tenn., Tuesday to issue an apology to the lesbian and gay community after an anti-gay rant during his June 3 show there drew fire.

Morgan was scheduled to address reporters Tuesday morning at the Nashville Convention Center after meeting with members of the audience who were offended by his comedy routine and representatives from gay advocacy groups.

The "30 Rock" actor already has issued a public apology. He met with homeless lesbian and gay youth and advocates Friday in New York City as well. Morgan agreed to the Nashville meeting at the request of Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation President Jarrett Barrios.

Morgan was not expected to take questions during the news conference.

Why Louis C.K. is wrong to defend Tracy Morgan

Fri, 17 Jun 2011 20:18:00 +0000

Louis C.K. went on a rampage today in defense of Tracy Morgan. Previously, Louis had taken to Twitter to publicly stand behind the homophobic jokes that Morgan has already apologized for, and during an interview with Slate he continued to attack Tracy's attackers using some less-than-sound arguments.

"And people heard this Tracy shit mostly third-hand. He didn't stand on a public stage and say this stuff. He didn't make these announcements: 'Here, America, are my views.' Where you say something makes a huge difference about what you say and what it means and what you let yourself say…And I think the person who really fucked people up and hurt people with Tracy's words was whoever took it out of that Nashville club and put it on the national stage -- whoever called Huffington Post or whoever started this shit, and said, 'Guess what Tracy Morgan said,' and announced it to the rest of the world. He wasn't trying to say it to the rest of the world. So when I read stuff like, How are gay people going to feel when they read this? Well they didn't have to read it! They weren't part of that show. Maybe there were gay people there who were laughing. You don't fucking know. Nobody gets to say that they represent anybody and they're offended on behalf of the whole world."

Tracy Morgan is ready to make nice

Tue, 14 Jun 2011 14:56:00 +0000

Tracy Morgan is changing his tune. After running afoul of the LGBT community -- and a whole lot of comedy fans in general -- with a homophobia-tinged set in Tennessee earlier this month, the "30 Rock" star is now meeting with an LGBT youth group and teaming with GLAAD for an anti-bullying PSA.

It was less than two weeks ago that Morgan drew gasps for a routine in which he declared "that 'Born This Way' is bullshit, gay is a choice," and that his son "better talk to me like a man and not in a gay voice or I’ll pull out a knife and stab that little nigger to death." After an audience member posted a Facebook note on the content of the show, the story snowballed into a public relations disaster for the comic. LGBT organizations Truth Wins Out and the Human Rights Campaign condemned the routine, and Morgan's own celebrity peers were none too supportive either. His "30 Rock" costar, the openly gay Cheyenne Jackson, told Out last week he was "disgusted and appalled by Tracy Morgan's homophobic rant," and Tina Fey called it "disturbing to me at a time when homophobic hate crimes continue to be a life-threatening issue for the GLBT community."

Five pop culture items we missed

Fri, 10 Jun 2011 21:11:00 +0000

1. Tween news of the day: Justin Bieber's girlfriend, Selena Gomez, was rushed to the hospital after she complained of a headache and nausea post-"Tonight Show" appearance. Yeah, Leno will do that to you.

2. Royal envy of the day: William and Kate looking radiant at the ARK (Absolute Return for Kids) gala last night. My god, I thought we'd seen the last of those two after the honeymoon -- at least give us a couple months off!

3. Meta viral roundup of the day: Comedians Gabe Delahaye and Max Silvestri talk about all the great Internet videos you missed this week as part of their new Internet video series, "Gabe & Max Like the Internet."

Tracy Morgan objectifies Sarah Palin

Fri, 28 Jan 2011 02:28:00 +0000

I love the "NBA on TNT," and I love the unpredictability that comes with any live Tracy Morgan appearance. So I tuned in to the comedian's "Inside the NBA" cameo, smiling dimples into an un-dimpled face. After some riffing, TNT’s Kenny Smith asked the "30 Rock" star whom he preferred between Tina Fey and Sarah Palin.

Morgan: “I think Sarah Palin is good masturbation material! The glasses and all of that ... great masturbation material!”

The ebullient, gross response was met with childish giggles, nervous shifting, and co-host Ernie Johnson’s dyspeptic frown. Tracy had gone too far.

Kenny Smith was the one who objectified both Fey and Palin, though it was tacit and therefore OK. When Morgan brought the question to its natural conclusion, the comedian likely earned a life ban from TNT, and a bag full of frothing death threats. Had he simply chosen Fey, or Palin, the situation would have floated down the memory hole on a cloud of harmless jock cackles. Instead, Tracy’s unvarnished, lewd honesty revealed the unsavory nature of Kenny’s question line, and made Morgan a momentary pariah.

Box office report: Is “Shutter Island” Scorsese’s biggest?

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 15:02:00 +0000

This will be shorter than usual. First of all, there isn't all that much news to report and second of all, I spent the day at Disneyland, which was far more crowded than usual. Curse you, "Captain Eo"! You marred my Sunday in three dimensions! Point being, I'm pooped. So "Shutter Island" pulled a repeat at No. 1 this weekend, dropping just 45 percent for a $22.2 million second weekend and a new total of $75 million.

Despite the mixed reviews and word of mouth, the Scorsese thriller is still the only real event movie out there for people who don't need a return trip to Pandora. While I didn't care for "Shutter Island" one bit, I am heartened that a moody, complicated, two-hour-plus, non-sequel, R-rated thriller from Martin Scorsese is a genuine smash hit. In this day and age, it's always refreshing to see an adult-driven genre picture to reach heights only usually accorded to franchises and animated films. The picture is Scorsese's fifth-biggest domestic grosser, and will reach no. 3 on that list by next weekend. Whether or not it can surpass the $132 million earned by "The Departed" is an open question, but it won't have any demo competition until "The Green Zone." That Bourne-goes-to-Baghdad thriller opens March 12. (I have no idea if that's an accurate summary, by the way, but it's sure how the Paul Greengrass/Matt Damon film is being sold by Universal).

Tracy Morgan en fuego!

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 17:26:00 +0000

Best "Daily Show" interview in weeks? Tracy Morgan, who had Jon Stewart in tears at Wednesday night's taping. After Stewart compliments Morgan on his hair, Morgan warns the audience, "Hold onto your women! I could take your girl with my haircut. At least that's how it is in my community. Somebody could get pregnant." (Later in the evening, Morgan continued his tear on "Jimmy Kimmel," with the video parody "Impregn8ed.")

The madness spins out from there, with Morgan explaining what it means to be old school, sexually speaking, then weaving in Evel Knievel in a wheelchair jumping phone books, Christopher Cross and a Russian bear on a bicycle (Isn't that the plot of a John Irving novel?), and a strip club for "fat dudes" called "Chickendale's."

They should've extended this interview by about five minutes. To make up for it, NBC should immediately book Morgan on "The Marriage Ref." Can you imagine the brilliant advice for squabbling married couples that might tumble from this man's mouth? Throw out Kelly Ripa and replace her with Morgan, stat!

Tracy Morgan cries for his mom — and we cry, too

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:24:00 +0000

Twelve minutes into his "Fresh Air" interview yesterday, "30 Rock's" Tracy Morgan was in tears. The rambunctious, notoriously volatile Morgan had been recalling his troubled childhood in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y. -- he was both wistful and angry talking about his father, who returned after five tours of duty in Vietnam with a heroin addiction he eventually kicked -- but the conversation turned painfully emotional when Morgan explained how he left his mother to live with his dad, returning a year later to get his siblings.

“It was a terrible situation,” said Morgan. “It wasn’t my mother’s fault. Something just went off on me. I wanted better for me. That was the hardest day of my life, and I heard my mother cry. It just broke me down, and I think about it now. I never meant to hurt my mother.” Morgan’s voice cracked, and he began to weep.

“First Sunday”

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 12:00:00 +0000

There's something a little, if not greatly, insulting about the way slapdash comedies like "First Sunday" are sold. The thinking seems to be that black audiences will flock to see any old thing that showcases black stars -- in this case, Ice Cube, Katt Williams, Loretta Devine and the disarmingly weird Tracy Morgan. But "First Sunday" is simply a case of wasting gifted performers on material that feels slapped together and unshaped. The movie is an obvious bid to cash in on the "Friday" franchise, which began, in 1995, with F. Gary Gray's "Friday" and was followed by two other pictures made by different directors. All three of those pictures, like this one, starred Ice Cube. (Cube was also a producer on those films, as he is on "First Sunday.")

But not even Cube, often a terrific actor and always a warm and engaging one, is a magic bullet, and his presence in "First Sunday" doesn't count for much. "First Sunday" was written and directed by David E. Talbert (it's his feature debut), who has written numerous plays as well as a TV special for Jamie Foxx. The movie is designed to be uplifting and inspirational, but everything about it is tired and listless. It doesn't so much make you feel the spirit as drain it out of you.