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Opinion: Tracy Morgan apologizes, then tries out a different offensive rant

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Tracy Morgan either doesn’t know the difference between pushing boundaries and hate speech, or he doesn’t care. Despite repeated apologies for his homophobic rant in Tennessee on June 3, including an in-person mea culpa with the audience he offended, Morgan doesn’t seem to have taken anything away from the experience. In New York City on Sunday, TMZ reports another line-crossing rant:

Tracy warned his audience at a performance in New York City this weekend, ‘Don’t ever mess with women who have retarded kids.’ The audience groaned, but Tracy didn’t stop: ‘Them young retarded males is strong. They’re strong like chimps.’

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First time around, our editorial board weighed in on Morgan’s insensitive ‘humor,’ acknowledging that ‘comedy has long been accepted as a medium in which performers can push the boundaries of taste’ but that what Morgan was doing was reverting to old boundaries.

In the process, Morgan revealed that he’s capable of frightening (and unfunny) invective, and left his audience wondering whether he is a garden-variety homophobe.

The board also hoped this would be a teachable moment for Morgan, and for us all:

But when artists slip from funny to hateful, it’s time to stop laughing and call them out on it. We all learn something from doing that.

Apparently Morgan has yet to learn.

Update: A previous version of this post said Morgan’s June 3 statements took place in Texas. The event was in Tennessee.

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-- Alexandra Le Tellier

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