During a standup routine in Nashville on June 3rd, Tracy Morgan took things too far by making homophobic statements.

The 30 Rock star sparked outrage from gay rights groups after the verbal attack, in which he said lesbians are women “pretending because she hates a f—ing man and that people who were bullied for their homosexuality needed to ‘stop whining.’ He also said if his son … was gay he better come home and talk to him like a man and not [he mimicked a gay, high pitched voice] or he would pull out a knife and stab that little N (one word I refuse to use) to death.

Kevin Rogers, an audience member who voiced his disgust on Facebook after the show, said that he’s “been a big fan” of Morgan “since his days at SNL,” went into the show expecting “a good ribbing of straight gay humor.”

Today, Tracy issued an apology saying:

“I want to apologize to my fans and the gay and lesbian community for my choice of words at my recent stand-up act in Nashville. I’m not a hateful person and don’t condone any kind of violence against others. While I am an equal opportunity jokester, and my friends know what is in my heart, even in a comedy club this clearly went too far and was not funny in any context.”

A spokesperson for The Ryman Auditorium (the venue) also apologized:

“The Ryman Auditorium regrets that people were offended by statements made by Tracy Morgan during his June 3 appearance. The Ryman does not control the content presented by people appearing on its stage, nor does it endorse any of the views of, or statements made by, such persons.”