Melbourne, Australia – Women’s rights activists are attempting to boycott comedian Tracy Morgan after 50 fans reportedly walked out of his stand-up performance over alleged “sexism.”
Morgan’s performance came as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, but reportedly offensive material regarding women kept fans from enjoying his routine. At a performance at the city’s Hamer Hall on Saturday night, critics found Morgan’s material insulting, and lamented that the show was unfunny, misogynistic, and over-priced.
After the controversial performance, Melinda Tankard Reist, who operates a women’s rights group called Collective Shout, announced a boycott against the 30 Rock star’s remaining appearances at the Regal Theatre in Perth on Monday and Tuesday. Reist wrote on her blog:
“It was good to know at least some people walked out. Even better would be if those planning to attend his gig at the Regal Theatre tomorrow night boycotted it. Collective Shout is calling on Regal Theatre to not give Morgan a platform for Morgan’s misogynist hate speech.”
She continued her criticism of Morgan’s performance in an interview with Australia’s Herald Sun , sharing, “We have government-funded campaigns to stop violence against women and yet this behavior continues in mainstream popular culture. What message is he sending to other men?”
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the show’s promoter Live Nation said that they only received one complaint after the comic’s Friday performance in Sydney. Apparently, the alleged 50 folks who walked out on Morgan’s show forgot to pick up a telephone.
Morgan has been called out for offensive material in the past . In 2011, the comic was criticized by 30 Rock co-stars and other comedians for a reported homophobic line targeted at American Idol alum Adam Lambert.
“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. It also 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,” said co-star Tina Fey.
Comedian Chris Rock came to Morgan’s defense, tweeting: “I dont know about you, but I dont want to live in world where Tracy Morgan cant say foul inappropriate sh–.”
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