Is Tracy Morgan Dead Yet?

06/14/2011

(This article is part of Ology's weekly "Are They Dead Yet?" series. Every Tuesday, we analyze the current state of the industry and hope to raise discussion about whether prominent figures in pop culture may be going completely off the deep end. We don’t mean they’re actually going to die. But, you know ... maybe their careers should.)

The Fame Game has many different variations: what does one have to do to become famous? How do you go from C-list to B-list to the coveted A-list position and in the public eye and heart of American citizens the entire country after? And then there’s my favorite fame game of all: how quickly can you f*ck that up?

This Week In Suck: Tracy Morgan Homophobic In Nashville Stand-Up
Tracy Morgan Totally Backpedals On That Whole Homophobic Thing
Tina Fey And NBC’s Bob Greenblatt Respond To Tracy Morgan’s Homophobic Slurs

Believe it or not, Tracy Morgan has managed to keep his fame sanity intact for quite a while. Morgan, 42, has enjoyed fame that most aspiring comedians dream of, where a beginning on the Martin Lawrence series Martin lead to a 7-year run on Saturday Night Live, where he thrived by creating some of the show’s most memorable characters (Brian Fellows, anyone?). His funny chops and relationship with NBC led to a lead role on the network’s big sitcom 30 Rock, alongside A-list comedians Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin.

Sounds like a charmed life, right? Unfortunately, his career took a sharp turn on June 3rd, where in the middle of one of his standup acts, Tracy began a rant that would go on to berate the gay community, spewing anti-gay sentiments and using violent imagery against homosexuals. Kevin Rogers, a gay man and owner of FUZZ magazine, a mag dedicated to older gay men, was in attendance during Morgan’s standup and was extremely disturbed by his actions. He immediately vented his frustrations via Facebook. Here’s an excerpt of his account of the night:

"Mr. Morgan took it upon himself to mention about how he feels all this gay shit was crazy and that women are a gift from God and that "Born this Way" is bullshit, gay is a choice, and the reason he knows this is exactly because "God don't make no mistakes" (referring to God not making someone gay cause that would be a mistake). He said that there is no way a woman could love and have sexual desire for another woman, that's just a woman pretending because she hates a fucking man.

He took time to visit the bullsh*t of this bullying stuff and informed us that the gays needed to quit being pussies and not be whining about something as insignificant as bullying. He mentioned that gay was something kids learn from the media and programming, and that bullied kids should just bust some ass and beat those other little fuckers that bully them, not whine about it.

He said that if his son was gay he better come home and talk to him like a man and not [he mimicked a gay, high pitched voice] or he would pull out a knife and stab that little N (one word I refuse to use) to death. He mentioned that Barack Obama needed to man up and quit being all down with this just because he has a wife and two daughters.

All of this being followed by thunderous cheer and "You go Tracys". Tracy then said he didn't fucking care if he pissed off some gays, because if they can take a fucking dick up their ass... they can take a fucking joke... The sad thing is that none of this rant was a joke."

And so followed the vicious media hailstorm: countless celebrities and organizations have denounced Morgan for his actions, including the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), his 30 Rock co-star (and boss) Tina Fey, and NBC Chairman Bob Greenblatt. Days after the incident occurred and the public got a hold of Tracy’s words, Morgan himself took time to issue an apology:

"Of all the sicknesses, there is probably none more abusive than homophobia. My heart is committed to giving everyone the same rights that I deserve for myself. I don't care if you love the same sex as long as you have the ability to love someone. Also, you should have the right no matter who you are to protect and serve our country. I am deeply sorry for the comments I made. What I am most sad about is the comments I made about kids and bullying.I would never want any young person to think that I wasn't on their side and if any young person thinks they can bully a young gay kid, come see me at 30 Rock. On the corner, I would be happy to meet you. Or Brooklyn if you can't make it into Manhattan."

Which at first instance is arguably fine: people make mistakes, and people apologize for those mistakes, and can be forgiven so long as they don’t happen again. With Morgan, steps are being taken not only to ensure that a repeat offensive will occur, but to offset it completely; Morgan plans to return to Nashville, the scene of the crime, to apologize to his fans in-person.

And we can debate all day whether or not Morgan's apologies are genuine or whether or not he's merely trying to save his career- it actually doesn't matter... unless he gets caught again. Does Tracy's major slip mean that we can't like the guy anymore? Do we accept his possibly forced apology? In some part, his apology comes because he is facing pressure to do so from every aspect of the universe- does that make it any less genuine? After all of this- is his career over?

Believe it or not, I don't think it is. At all. In fact, I think that this incident has shown a greater spotlight on Tracy Morgan that he's certainly intended- but I highly believe this will help rather than hurt his career. All of a sudden, people are interested in Morgan again, at a time where he was in a rather unimportant place in the media landscape. Unfortunately, nothing helps relevancy like a little controversy. There's a good chance that instead of being dead, Morgan is back- and bigger than ever.

But what do you think? Should Tracy's career be over, or does he deserve to thrive? Share your thoughts below.

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Terron R. Moore is a writer. You’ve previously seen him at BET, VIBE Magazine, and NEXT Magazine.
Follow him on Twitter: @cityfitch