Soon after the news broke, in June of last year, that Tracy Morgan had launched into a homophobic rant during a stand-up performance, it occurred to us that the incident might turn up in the next season of 30 Rock. Over the years, the show has often addressed real-life controversies involving its cast — a great episode last year, for instance, tackled a dizzying array issues related to women in comedy, from the double-edged sword of Jezebel (known in the episode as “Joan of Snark”) to female comedians who infantilize themselves and use their sexuality to get ahead.

So we weren’t surprised when, earlier this month, we learned that Morgan’s outburst would indeed be worked into the 30 Rock plot. “They’ve incorporated [Morgan's rant] into the Tracy Jordan storyline,” MSNBC anchor Thomas Roberts, who is gay, told The Huffington Post. “Liz Lemon writes Tracy’s apology on the show and says he’s not a homophobe, he’s an idiot. That offends idiots, so while NBC is being picketed by the LBGT community, now it’s also being picketed by idiots led by Denise Richards. She’s the leader of the idiots.” That’s a fairly accurate summary of what happened on 30 Rock last night, but to be honest, the episode sounded far more satisfying when I first read Roberts’ description than it actually turned out to be. … Read More