Tina Fey Defends Tracy Morgan, Says He Isn't "A Hateful Man"

Under fire after hitting headlines following his recent comedy show's anti-gay rant, Tracy Morgan can certainly use all of the support he can muster at the current time.

The 42-year-old actor received kind words from one of his "30 Rock" co-stars, as Tina Fey told TMZ that Morgan isn't a hateful man.

Fey said, "The violent imagery of Tracy's rant was disturbing to me at a time when homophobic hate crimes continue to be a life-threatening issue for the GLBT Community," adding that he clearly "went too far."

Though she clearly doesn't approve of Morgan's stage rant, Tina said that it "doesn't line up with the Tracy Morgan I know, who is not a hateful man and is generally much too sleepy and self-centered to ever hurt another person."

The "Saturday Night Live" alum added, "I hope for his sake that Tracy's apology will be accepted as sincere by his gay and lesbian coworkers at 30 Rock, without whom Tracy would not have lines to say, clothes to wear, sets to stand on, scene partners to act with, or a printed-out paycheck from accounting to put in his pocket."

Following his June 3rd stand-up gig in Nashville, Tracy Morgan issued an apology for the homophobic statements made and asked the gay community to forgive him.

He shared, "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."

A spokesperson for The Ryman Auditorium (the venue) also apologized. "The Ryman Auditorium regrets that people were offended by statements made by Tracy Morgan during his June 3 appearance. The Ryman does not control the content presented by people appearing on its stage, nor does it endorse any of the views of, or statements made by, such persons." 

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