Tracy Morgan apologises
Tracy Morgan has met with gay and transgender youths in Nashville, Tennessee 18 days after he upset fans there with homophobica remarks during a stand-up comedy show.
The 30 Rock star was reprimanded by gay rights groups for suggesting that he would 'stab' his son if he found out he was gay, during his routine earlier this month. He has since apologised for the ill-judged remark.
He also agreed to meet with homeless gay teens in New York on Friday in an effort to show gay rights groups he was truly sorry. The meeting at the Ali Forney Centre was arranged by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.
Morgan then travelled back to Nashville to apologise directly to the fans he offended with his homophobic remarks. He spoke to residents at the Nashville Convention Centre as well as the media.
He said: "I apologise to the people that were at the show. I want to apologise to my friends, and my family and my fans and everyone in every community who were offended by this. I didn't know. I didn't mean it... I don't have a hateful bone in my body. I don't believe that anyone should be bullied or just made to feel bad about who they are."
The comedian also met Elke Kennedy, the founder of Sean's Last Wish. Her 20-year-old son, Sean, was murdered in an anti-gay hate crime in 2007.
He continued: "I totally feel taht, in my heart, I don't care who you love, same-sex or not, as long as you have the ability to love. I don't really see gay pr straight, I just see human beings now... From the bottom of my heart, I apologise to everybody... To err is human, to forgive is divine... Thank you everybody for forgiving me."
Kevin Rogers, the Morgan fan who first reported the comic's remarks via Facebook said: "Tracy was sincere and spoke from his heart today... The best thing that has come from this is a national conversation that anti-gay violence is unacceptable and that homophobia is outdated."
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