Call on Regal Theatre to pull Morgan off the program
How much more women-hating are we expected to endure? And this latest manifestation in the name of ‘entertainment’?
Steve Bennett has written this review of 30 Rock’s Tracy Morgan’s stand-up Performance at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival for UK comedy guide Chortle. Here’s an extract:
So here’s the problem. There’s only one reason Tracy
Morgan can fill Melbourne’s 2,600-seat Hamer Hall twice in one night, and that’s 30 Rock: a sophisticated, endearing and witty sitcom. But Morgan’s stand-up is none of those things.
This is an unpleasant, graphic, charmless 45-minute tirade – brevity being a rare redeeming feature – sharing his baser instincts in putrid detail, and very little humour.
‘Fucking women are crazy’ he tells us, with his advice to the fairer sex being both, ‘get yo’ ass in the fucking kitchen’ and ‘give that pussy up and stop this bullshit.’ For ‘bullshit’, he means ‘conversation’, I think, for as he taps his head, he warns the men: ‘Once a woman get in there, she live rent-free.’
Let us not assume he is discriminatory about ‘bitches’, though, as he shows no prejudice as to where he sticks his penis: Fat, thin, black, white, disabled – all women can be a receptacle for him. He is something of a vaginal connoisseur, sharing his informed reviews: ‘That pussy be burnt out’; ‘That crippled pussy stays wet’; ‘that pussy stink just a little bit’… there was something about the lubricating ‘discharge’ from a disabled woman too, but I was too busy gagging to write that line down verbatim. Read full story here
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.
Contact details for the Regal theatre in Perth:
https://www.facebook.com/theregaltheatre
t 08 9388 2066
f 08 9388 2860
regal@iinet.net.au
www.regaltheatre.com.au
474 Hay Street Subiaco WA 6008
See also:
Lip Magazine – Fans storm out of Tracy Morgan’s MICF comedy show
News.com.au – Fans walk out on Tracy Morgan’s comedy show
17 Responses
lets boycott this crap.
Look, I can take dirty jokes but this was WAYYY beyond. Unfunny, sexist, racist, misogynistic, disgusting rubbish. Complete waste of money and time, walked out, even the theatre staff were offended and sat outside. Gross
Sounds like a completely dud show, but also sounds like you
are putting together a lynch mob. Just because something is tasteless doesnt means it needs
to be banned. If you want to boycott it, don’t go,, but I don’t want to live in
a society where tub thumpers get to kibosh things they don’t like, as the selfl appointed moral guardians. The chant of the 21st century appears to be- “I’m offended, and I have rights!” This might assist understanding
http://youtu.be/9UvI_vh8S5E
Bryan, you seem to have made a lot of assumptions in your comment.
The first is that anyone who objects to misogyny (and by extension, racism, homophobia and any other kind of hate speech) is offended or has chosen to take offence.
Rather than actually placing any responsibility on the one who engages in hate speech, you instead minimise his message of hate by labelling it “tasteless”. Anyone who objects to the denigrating of women ie. women being referred to as bitches, or as objects to receive penises you then accuse of have a “lynch mob” mentality and paint them as “moral guardians”.
Free speech is only free speech if it applies to everyone. This means that those who object to sexism have the right to say so, just as you have the right to share your nonsensical oversimplified justifications for hate speech.
Hi Bryan
You’ve misread/misinterpreted the article. It’s not a request for it to be banned. It’s:
– drawing attention to the fact that Morgan relies on hate speech in his attempts to make people laugh;
– making the point that this is unacceptable on the basis that it is sexist and misogynistic, reinforces inequality, and fuels rape culture;
– asking the theatre to cancel the event because of the above;
– suggesting that – if the theatre goes ahead with it – people boycott the show.
No mention of a ban.
Saying “If you want to boycott it, don’t go” ignores the broader impact that this hate speech has on women and on society more generally.
> “I don’t want to live in a society where tub thumpers get to kibosh things they don’t like, as the self-appointed moral guardians.”
That’s very disrespectful and patronising. Don’t people have the right to voice their concerns about things that they find offensive, and request that those things are no longer visible/audible in the public domain? I certainly don’t want to live in a society where people can be granted a platform for hate speech. If that’s the society we have (and at the moment it seems that we do), then I’m certainly going to voice my concerns about that. It’s not okay. In this particular instance, it’s male privilege and patriarchy working in tandem to oppress women. People don’t have to accept that, no matter what patriarchy tells us.
Bryan, please get a vagina. It might assist understanding.
I actually went to the show and yes it wasn’t funny, it was boring and offensive.
I left thinking he is chauvinist pig and I cant believe I paid almost $80 for it!
The area where I was sitting there were only the ocasional laughs. I could see some of the men cringing at the jokes.
I think he pulled such a crowd because we were expecting something like 30 Rock, full of energy and funny. Can’t believe he got a chair to sit down.
I am not easily shocked and can’t say it was shocking but it wasn’t funny and it was offensive and degrading to women. To give the idea that his behaviour is acceptable is bad and thinking he won a Grammy even worst.
Bryan,
Perhaps it would be less appealing, or more offensive if his hate speech was towards raping women? Children maybe? A murderous rampage he dabbled in?
There are many ‘tasteless’ things than can be said. “that colour looks crap on you”, “You smell bad”. Outrageous degradation of women and likening them to a hole you poke your penis in, and otherwise useless, is so far past tasteless.
For someone to hate women so much, and then use them as comical props is disgusting. He should be ashamed of himself. I’m glad some people had the sense to walk out. I just wish it had been the entire audience.
Protecting oppressed groups from oppression, and creating empowerment and equality, is an important role society should be more active in. Ignoring it is just as bad as speaking it.
I wonder if he would have received similar outrage if Tracy Morgan was a white man? There are some pretty disgusting white comedians out there but where’s the outrage?
Christina, I can’t think of a white comic popular enough to fill such a venue (twice in a night) while using equally offensive humour. This is not a matter of race. In fact, if Tracy was a white man he’d probably attract more criticism, as black comics are almost expected to joke largely about generalised differences between men and women – think Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock, etc. The latest review of my show made reference to me being “misogynist” while that couldn’t be further from the truth, which to me shows that white males can be scrutinised more easily due to not being part of a minority.
When it comes down to it, Tracy is an unfunny man who is only funny when other people write for him. He would never have become this popular from stand-up alone.
Seeking to have a event closed by denying a venue is in essence a ban. Asking consumers
not to purchase/support a service/function is seeking a boycott. Both are
noted in your first post. That is your right. What is disturbing is that, no doubt with good intentions,
you feel that you’re ‘being offended’ allows you a right to determine what others
should be able to see and do.
Not to belittle your point but I find boy bands offensive, but I’m
not so self important to think that I can, or should, wage a campaign to foist
my views on others.
Sexism, racism, homophobia, supporting Collingwood should all
be confronted head on. Banning comdey gigs reeks of Berlin 1936. Banning comedy gigs, seriously?
Thanks for your concern, but I’m big enough to make my own choices. And that’s no joke.
Spotcheck:
Protecting oppressed groups from oppression, and creating empowerment and equality, is an important role society should be more active in. Ignoring it is just as bad as speaking it.
And therein lies the problem. Ignoring the paternalism of the first part of your first sentence, I broadly
agree. Banning or boycotting outrageously tasteless rubbish is worse than ignoring it, it’s seeking to pretend it doesn’t exist. That rubbish needs to be confronted, counted and exposed for all
it’s wrongness. That ain’t going to happen by tut tutting and wanting it to not be seen. That crud needs
to be confronted head on, even at comedy gigs.
Well, I thought it was funny.
I don’t understand why anyone is getting upset over this. Please, ladies, stop carrying on about misogyny.. it’s like everyone suddenly learnt a new word, lol, and I cringe everytime I hear it.
Australians are not racist, homophobic, or misogynistic, and this constant whinging is embarrassing us as a nation.
Well done Bryan for putting the libertarian case. So this means then that white male supremacists have the right to promote racial hatred because it is essential white male supremacists be allowed to hold rallies promoting white male supremacy. To ban white male supremacist rallies would be as you claim ‘is worse than ignoring it!’
Bryan proves he is a libertarian because he believes he has the right to view/see/read whatever he wishes because his rights supercede women’s right not to be routinely subjected to pandemic male hatred and male contempt.
For your information Bryan we women ‘aren’t offended’ we are angry that yet another male is being given right to promote male hatred/male contempt for women. In case you’ve forgotten Bryan women comprise majority of the human race but because men continue to be the ones according themselves socio-economic power this means men accord themselves the right to utter women-hating lies.
It’s not about you Bryan it is about how our male supremacist system condones and promotes mens’ mythical view they alone are human and they alone have the right to view/access/read anything and everything irrespective of its impact on women and non-white women and men.
Boycotting this male misogynist’s show is action and it is effective because the organisers of this women-hating show will lose money and businesses exist in order to make profits not losses.
The fact is that censorship always defeats its own purpose, for it creates, in the end, the kind of society that is incapable of exercising real discretion.
Maja: that is a very sexist comment. Lucky we aren’t all extremists and won’t whinge about it.
Many seem to be forgetting that he is a COMEDIAN. Granted, when it comes to shock comedy, the way you choose to take it comes down to personal taste, but it still falls into the category of COMEDY. Meaning: It’s not intended to be taken seriously, people! There are FAR more pressing issues out there worthy of directing your concern towards.