Joan Rivers has made quite a few enemies with her off-color jokes over the years, so when Tracy Morgan apologized for his homophobic June 3 standup routine, the 78-year-old comedienne couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"He shouldn't apologize," an enraged Rivers told The Daily Beast. "Gay fans? What are they doing seeing him anyhow? Why aren't they watching me and Kathy Griffin? What are they doing at this show?" She then laughed and said, "He's lost his [one] gay fan."
The comedy legend did, however, acknowledge that Morgan is wise to use the incident as an opportunity to meet with gay youth and discuss his opposition to bullying and discrimination.
"If they can actually get Tracy Morgan to be coherent and talk against homophobia even if he doesn't mean it, I think that'd be all right," she said. "Because there are people even dumber than Tracy Morgan, who look up to Tracy Morgan as an ignorant role model."
"I'll tell you, the biggest crime of all," she added, "is that Tracy Morgan isn't funny. You know what he should be apologizing for? For charging $86 to see him."
On June 17, Morgan, 42, met with homeless gay teens from the Ali Forney Center in NYC. "Today, Tracy saw firsthand the toll that homophobia and anti-gay violence can take on a person's life," GLAAD President Jarrett Barrios told Us Weekly in a statement. "By meeting with LGBT teens left homeless because of who they are, we hope that Tracy has come to understand that so-called 'jokes' about gay youth are not just irresponsible — they are damaging."
The 30 Rock star also announced that he will return to Tennessee on June 21 to apologize to audience members he offended during his act. While in Nashville, Morgan will also meet with the Tennessee Equality Project and local advocates.
