Want more of the Tracy Morgan homophobic kerfluffle? Sure, why not. Previously on “Tracy Morgan’s Homophobic Kerfluffle”: Tracy said this! Which made the internet say that! Which made Louis CK say this! Which made you say that. (We now join TMHK already in progress.)

So today Slate published a good interview with Louis CK—who has also said a controversial thing or two during his career—and he provides some more explanation regarding his defense of Tracy Morgan. OBSERVE:

There’s a lot of times when I let myself channel bad ideas as a way to do comedy. I think it’s something that’s a healthy thing to do, honestly. 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.

And…

And I don’t know him well, but he’s a good guy. So I’m using that judgment, of just, hey, I met him and he’s a good guy. And I get a sense of him as a father, and there’s no way he would stab his kid. It’s a dumb thing to take at face value. You’d have to be a moron. And if you do, you are not allowed to laugh at any more jokes. You are not allowed to laugh at any jokes that have any violence or negative feelings attached to them, ironically or otherwise.

So obviously, as a comedian who often treads on public sensibilities, it’s in Louis’ best business interest to mount a defense for Tracy—but as someone who also employs the “unreliable narrator” voice in his work—there is a line. And that line (which admittedly constantly moves) is usually the point where someone WHO REALLY DOESN’T DESERVE IT is getting shit on. For me, Morgan crossed that line regardless of where he was, or the context of the situation. So sorry, but I AM allowed to laugh at Louis referring to his daughter as a c-word, and NOT laugh at Morgan calling bullied gay kids “whiners.” Louis’ kid may not deserve it… but gay kids REALLLLLLY don’t deserve it.

There’s a lot more to this interesting interview—read it here.

Bang bang, choo-choo train, let me see you shake that thang. Wm. Steven Humphrey is the editor-in-chief of the Portland Mercury and has held the job since 2000. (So don’t get any funny ideas.)

12 replies on “Louis CK Defends his Defense of Tracy Morgan”

  2. “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.”

    That’s dumb. The whole reason this thing started wasn’t because someone “tipped off Huffington Post” or whatever, it was that there was a gay guy who in fact attended the show, and who wrote something on his personal Facebook page.

  4. 1) What TM meant to say was that gay bullying is NOT more harmful than other types of bullying. In making that point, he went too far. I can’t disagree with people condemning TM because what he said was really crass and insensitive.

    At the same time, though, how can a professional smartass such as WSH–who does an entire series calling babies stupid–NOT defend TM’s ability to make insensitive jokes? When did stand up comedians have to abide by the same rules as the rest of society?

    2) Comedy should never be taken literally. If anyone is naïve enough to believe that TM tolerates gay bullying, they’re taking comedy TOO seriously.

    Just like we all know that WSH doesn’t really hate babies, hipsters, dogs, tardy food cart operators, or Selena Gomez, we all know that TM does not hate gay people.

    3) We all appreciate the efforts of Dan Savage to stop kids from killing themselves due to (gay) bullying, but even he understands that there are no protected classes in comedy.

    As “Hello, I Am Fat”gate proved, Savage knows that comedy is not fair nor rational; it’s not meant to be. Whether TM’s hypothetical gay kid “deserved it” is besides the point. TM is a comedian telling (crude) jokes, not a teacher, a politician, or a preacher; he’s a well-paid clown.

    4) LCK is the most principled man I’ve never met. He’s a king among whiners.

  7. I dont even like TM, but I dont give 1 shit about what he thinks either. He can could should and will swallow every n$$$er joke he has heard and will here….And some of them are FUNNY! Dont have to like it, it just is. Just like gay jokes sex jokes blond jokes and the joke hanging between your legs. Point is everybody is fair game…Except me. Fuck you very much and I hope your hair falls out.

  8. C’mon, people. Why do you continually expect comedians to be human every once in a while? Respect the slippery immunity bubble! Depending on the subject matter, they’re either just speaking truth to power/telling it like it is/pushing boundaries/being edgy!

    It’s not like they’re saying this shit from the audience, or to an employer or to gay kids’ faces or to their family! It’s from the slightly-elevated stage of a crappy club! There isn’t a more foreign context to us lay people!

    I heard LCK’s WTF podcast where he got weepy about his kids. I’m certain he’d be totally fine (and even laughing) with another comedian talking about murdering and raping his kids on account of they’d just be saying crazy stuff, n’ stuff.

  9. So if a white comic, with a nationally-aired sitcom, made jokes about how Tracy Morgan and other blacks look like they just dropped out of a banana tree and these jigaboo comedians should stay in their place, Louis CK would really be blaming those who reported these jokes on the internet, and saying “Maybe there were black 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.”??

  10. @geyser. Yeah, probably. If it was someone he knew and respected then he probably would give them the same latitude to fuck up, learn, work out the joke, and come up with something funny.

  11. Comedy is like Ultimate Fighting, it is entertaining. Sometimes children should not watch people may get hurt. It is the most difficult job in the world and while lifting heavy thoughts over head you may drop a few. Stand back and watch the show, I am satisfied the last 2 comments are coming from highly intelligent strong willed and imaginative people…Funny people.

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