Tracy Morgan Isn't Making Any Friends After Homophobic Rant (See Apology)

Shame on you, Tracy Morgan!

Reports are surfacing today that actor and comedian Tracy Morgan crossed the line from humor to hateful during a stand-up show in Nashville.

On June 4 the "30 Rock" funny guy was performing at the Ryman Auditorium when he went off on a gay-bashing rant saying quote, "Gays need to quit being p**sies and not be whining about something as insignificant as bullying."

Truth be told, bullying of the LGBT community in this country has led to thousands of suicides this year alone. The issue is a very real concern that needs support and advocacy from the celebrity community rather than more fuel for the fire. Ignorance breeds hate and in this case I hope other people in influential positions speak out.

Morgan didn't stop with the initial comment, instead he continued, "I don't "f*cking care if I piss off some gays, because if they can take a f*cking d**k up their ass ... they can take a f*cking joke." He also mentioned that if his son came out to him and said he was gay he would stab him to death. Really?

Wouldn't want to be any child of his. (See Morgan's apology after the jump)

This isn't the first time Morgan has shared his feelings on the homosexual community. In 2009 Morgan was peforming at Carnegie Hall in NYC when he said that being gay was a "choice." Members of the audience walked out of the show after the ignorant remark.

Just a few moments ago, Morgan issued a statement to Us Weekly saying, "I want to apologize to my fans and the gay and 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 against others. 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."

Update: Morgan's apology may be too little, too late.

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) – the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization – issued the following statement following Tracy Morgan’s apology:

“Tracy Morgan exercised extremely poor judgment and he did the right thing by apologizing. But that’s just not enough. He’s a role model and Morgan now has a responsibility to make amends for his horribly hurtful and dangerous ‘comedy’ routine. He also needs to go further than his apology and correct the record: no one should feel ashamed because they are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender and they should definitely not become a victim of violence,” said Fred Sainz, HRC vice president for communications.

“Words have consequences and Morgan should be held to a higher standard. Until he does something meaningful, his brand will remain tarnished,” said Sainz.

Will Morgan end up going the way of Michael Richards or Gilbert Godfried, who crossed the line into hateful comedy and ended up paying the price?