Alec Baldwin, Cheyenne Jackson, and George Takei are the latest celebrities to condemn comedian Tracy Morgan for his anti-gay homophobic rant. Wanda Sykes and  Keith Boykin, along with Tina Fey and NBC have already condemned the comedian’s attack on the LGBT community.
Tracy Morgan’s co-stars Alec Baldwin and Cheyenne Jackson late Saturday joined 30 Rock producer and star Tina Fey, and NBC Chairman Bob Greenblatt in the condemnation of Tracy Morgan for his June 4 hate-filled anti-gay rant.
READ: Tracy Morgan: Lesbians Hate Men, I’d Stab, Kill My Son If He Were Gay
“I am disgusted and appalled by Tracy Morgan’s homophobic rant,” read Cheyenne Jackson’s statement. “The devastating repercussions of hate-filled language manifest in very real ways for today’s LGBTQ youth. I’ve known Tracy for two years, spent many long hours with him on set, and I want to believe that this behavior is not at the core of who he is. I’m incredibly disappointed by his actions, and hope that his apology is sincere.”
Cheyenne Jackson, who is gay and has been with his physicist partner since 2000, has done a great deal of advocacy for the LGBT community, including being an Ambassador for both the HIV/AIDS group AMFAR, and for the LGBT youth advocacy organization, the Hetrick-Martin Institute.
The very famous and almost universally-liked Alec Baldwin has also done a great deal of work supporting the LGBT community, including recording PSAs supporting same-sex marriage.
Morgan’s stand-​up routine June 4 in Nashville, Tennessee included, as his co-​star and boss Tina Fey said, “disturbing†and “violent imagery†that included a threat to stab to death his son if he were gay, violent use of the “n†word, false comments that lesbians were faking being gay and were just angry at men, and that homosexuality is a choice that the media teaches kids to make. Morgan apologized Friday, but many have suggested his apology is insufficient.
READ: Wanda Sykes On Tracy Morgan: “Tracy just yelled, ‘Fire,’ in a crowded theater”
Even fellow comedian Chris Rock, who at first had defended Tracy Morgan Friday night, changed his tune on Saturday. After being gently excoriated by comedian Wanda Sykes, Chris Rock issued a thorough condemnation of Morgan.
“Tracy morgan is a tad off we all know that so when tracy says something i usually don’t take it anymore serious than i would a statement from gary busey or flavor flav,” Rock wrote, adding, “when i first heard the statement i thought it was offensive but it also reminded me of my father saying ill kill you if you ever bring home a white girl but after reading everything tracy said . wow i get it that s*it wasn’t called for and i don’t support it at all. now can i please go to the tony awards without getting my *ss kicked.”
George Takei, who has been a strong advocate for gay rights, and recently offered his name to those in Tennessee , and elsewhere who can’t say “gay,” (“Can’t say gay? Say Takei!“,) had this response to Tracy Morgan’s rant:
“When I first learned of it my blood started boiling, but then, the more I read it over, you know, he’s a sad, strange man,” Takei said to The Wrap. Â “He’s an African-American who has been subjected to bigotry and hate before, and for him to be perpetuating that, he must be an insecure guy.
“It’s really kind of sad to see that and to talk about violence — kill his own son if he turned out to be gay,” Takei said, before joking, “His father should be very careful: He might be the next victim of a killing rampage because he gave him the name ‘Tracy.’ It’s a very lacy kind of thing, poor guy. Maybe that contributed to his insecurity and hence his homophobia.”
Takei came out as gay in 2005, and in 2008 married his partner of 21 years, Brad Altman.
Keith Boykin has also condemned Tracy Morgan’s homophobic rant.
(Images: Alec Baldwin, Cheyenne Jackson, Chris Rock, George Takei)