Tracy Morgan Cancels Mississippi Show Over Anti-LGBT Law
Comedian Tracy Morgan is the latest and most surprising addition to the list of celebrities boycotting Mississippi over their new anti-LGBT law, which allow businesses to discriminate against LGBT people based on their "sincerely held religious beliefs."
Morgan announced yesterday that due to the law, he would cancel an upcoming performance in Tunica, Mississippi — a stop on his 'comeback' tour marking his return to the stage after being injured in a fatal car crash in 2014.
"Tracy did not make this decision lightly," his rep said in a statement. "He very much looks forward to rescheduling his tour dates in the area after the ‘Protecting Freedom of Conscience from Government Discrimination Act’ is either repealed or heavily amended."
The move stands in stark contrast to Morgan's previous interactions with the LGBT community.
In 2011, he stirred controversy for homophobic remarks he made during a stand-up routine in Nashville, where he said he would stab his son to death if he ever came out as gay or spoke in a "gay voice."
"I didn’t mean it. I don’t have a hateful bone in my body," Morgan said at a GLAAD press conference some time after. "I don’t believe that anyone should be bullied or just made to feel bad about who they are. I totally feel that, in my heart, I really don’t care who you love, same-sex or not, as long as you have the ability to love."
A growing number of Hollywood notables have been joining a boycott against anti-LGBT legislation in North Carolina and Mississippi ever since last month, when a list of 38 A-listers successfully petitioned Georgia's governor to veto similar legislation.
This month alone, Sharon Stone halted a film's production in Mississippi, and musicians including Bruce Springsteen, Boston, Ringo Starr, Pearl Jam, and Bryan Adams, have all cancelled their upcoming North Carolina gigs in protest.