'He's usually too self-centred to hurt other people': Tina Fey slams 30 Rock co-star Tracy Morgan for saying he would 'kill my son if he acted gay'

Boss Tina Fey slams 'disturbing' rant



Morgan bows to pressure and issues apology for his 'choice of words'

Vicious tirade exposed by former fan in Facebook post

Actor says homosexuality can't be biological because 'God don't make no mistakes'

Tina Fey has launched a scathing attack on 30 Rock co-star Tracy Morgan after he outraged fans with a hate-filled tirade against gays during a stand-up routine.

The 30 Rock star sparked outrage from gay rights groups after the vicious attack, in which he said people who were bullied for their homosexuality needed to 'stop whining'.

An angry member of the audience at his performance in Nashville, Tennessee, last weekend documented the whole rant on Facebook, saying the 42-year-old joked he would 'stab' his son if he acted gay.

Under fire: Gay rights groups are demanding Tracy Morgan, pictured in New York in March, 'explain himself' after he performed a routine filled with jokes about gays

After Morgan was forced to apologise earlier today, his boss Tina Fey issued a statement describing how she was 'disturbed' by the comedian's 'violent' comments.

'The violent imagery of Tracy's rant was disturbing to me at a time when homophobic hate crimes continue to be a life-threatening issue for the GLBT Community,' Fey told TMZ.

'It also doesn't line up with the Tracy Morgan I know, who is not a hateful man and is generally much too sleepy and self-centered to ever hurt another person.

'I hope for his sake that Tracy's apology will be accepted as sincere by his gay and lesbian co-workers at 30 Rock, without whom Tracy would not have lines to say, clothes to wear, sets to stand on, scene partners to act with, or a printed-out paycheck from accounting to put in his pocket.'



Fey's comments were seconded by NBC Chairman Bob Greenblatt, who claimed the network has warned Morgan about the incident.

Disturbed: Tina Fey slammed the comedian's 'violent' comments

He said: 'Tracy’s comments reflect negatively on both 30 Rock and NBC - two very all-inclusive and diverse organizations - and we have made it clear to him that this kind of behavior will not be tolerated.'



This morning the actor, who has three adult sons, responded to growing pressure and emailed an apology to several gay and lesbian groups.



He said: '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.

Shocking tirade: Tracy Morgan with his three sons in 2006. In an on-stage rant he said how he would 'stab' his son if he turned out to be gay

'I want to apologize to my fans and the gay & 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.'

Between a rock and a hard place: Tracy Morgan with his 30 Rock co-stars

According to Facebook user Kevin Rogers, who said he paid $86 to attend the show, Morgan called gay people 'mistakes'.

He said the comedian went on to claim lesbians just hate men and don’t have a real attraction to women.

On bullying in schools, Morgan is said to have advised gays to 'quit being p******' and stop whining.

Mr Rogers also described Morgan's comments about his son: 'He said 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.'

Mr Rogers, who said was a big fan of Morgan when he starred on Saturday Night Live, claimed the actor described homosexuality as 'crazy', and said being gay 'is a choice'.

He said the act continued with Morgan saying he knew homosexuality wasn't biological because 'God don't make no mistakes'.



He also revealed several members of the audience didn't like what they were hearing and 'as far as I could see 10 to 15 people walked out.'

Mr Rogers said he had expected a 'good ribbing of straight gay humour', but was mortified by the vicious rant.





Not funny: Facebook user Kevin Rogers posted an entire article to express his dismay with Morgan's outrageous stand-up routine



He said: 'His entire demeanour changed during that portion of the night. He was truly filled with some hate toward us.'

He told Entertainment Weekly: 'I can take a joke, but I absolutely did not expect a rant like this in the middle of a comedy act.'

It's not the first time Morgan has been accused of homophobia. During a 2009 stand-up show at Carnegie Hall, New York, audience members walked out within the first half-hour after the actor again said homosexuality was a choice.

Morgan's remarks caused fury among gay rights activists and internet commentators, who immediately demanded the apology.

Father and son: Tracy Morgan and his eldest son, Tracy Jr, pictured in 2009

The watchdog group Truth Wins Out also said it found Morgan's comedy routine deeply offensive.



It issued a statement saying: 'Tracy Morgan is a role model to many young people, including gay kids. If these reports are true, Mr Morgan owes them, and us all, a full apology.'

GLAAD, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, also released a statement today saying: 'Tracy Morgan’s management needs to investigate these allegations and should they prove true, we call on him to remove these violently anti-gay remarks from his show and send a strong message that anti-gay violence is not something to joke about.'

In a Twitter message earlier today, Advocate Magazine, which describes itself as 'the world's leading gay news source', urged readers to send in video footage of Morgan's rant.

Openly gay actor George Takei also took to Twitter to express outrage: 'In stand-up rant, Tracy Morgan threatened to kill his son if he were gay,' he tweeted, adding, 'I suspect his dad is next for naming him 'Tracy.'

The Ryman Auditorium, where the rant took place, quickly moved to distance itself from Morgan's performance.

It issued a statement saying: 'The Ryman Auditorium regrets that people were offended by statements made by Tracy Morgan during his June 3 appearance.

