Comedian Louis C.K. has said an
anti-gay joke by Tracy Morgan became a lost opportunity to teach on
the nature of homophobia.
The 44-year-old stand up comedian,
whose full name is Louis Szekely, stars in the FX series Louie,
which has been picked up for a third season.
In the show, Louis C.K. plays a
fictionalized version of himself – a stand up comic looking for
love as a single father of two young daughters.
Last summer while delivering a comic
routine in Nashville, Morgan, a star of NBC's 30 Rock,
condoned anti-gay bullying and said he would stab his son to death if
he found out he was gay. Morgan has subsequently apologized for the
rant.
At the time, Louis C.K., whose
television character often delivers gay jokes during his comedy
routines, came to Morgan's defense.
“Tracy Morgan said something wrong,
evil, cruel, ignorant and hilarious. He was on a comedy stage, not a
pulpit,” he tweeted.
“It is clear to anyone with an
ability to reason and understand people that he didn't mean a word of
what he said. He was fucking around.”
In an interview with Nightline
anchor Bill Weir to be broadcast on Monday, Louis C.K. revisited
the controversy.
“I think the opportunity that was
lost was for the gay community to ask Tracy, 'Why did you say that?'
and 'What was your dad like?' and 'What is being a man mean to you?'
you know what I mean?” Louis C.K. told Weir. “It could have been
a starting point of a conversation that might have actually made a
difference in how people feel about homophobia.”