I'll get back to making you laugh. I promise you.
June 3, 2015 6:12 AM Subscribe
"There are times where I have my good day and my bad days, where I forget things," he said. "There are times where I get the headaches, and the nose bleeds. I won't even let my lady know because I don't want her to be worried about it."--Tracy Morgan speaks about his injuries, the loss of his friend "Jimmy Mack" McNair, and the recently settled lawsuit against Wal-Mart.
New York Times on the settlement.
Previously.
I hope this comes across as the tribute to his talent it is meant to be, but given that other NBC staples like the late night shows and Today were a large part of 30 Rock, there is something (even more) deeply unsettling seeing Morgan not-as-Tracey-Jordan on that set in this situation.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 6:22 AM on June 3, 2015 [9 favorites]
posted by MCMikeNamara at 6:22 AM on June 3, 2015 [9 favorites]
I wonder how much of that YAY WALMART was part of the settlement agreement.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 6:24 AM on June 3, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 6:24 AM on June 3, 2015 [4 favorites]
Thank God for this because I was seriously under the impression that he was more or less incapable of speech or human interaction after the accident.
posted by shakespeherian at 6:25 AM on June 3, 2015 [25 favorites]
posted by shakespeherian at 6:25 AM on June 3, 2015 [25 favorites]
Recently relevant. Also, coincidentally, this. This future can't come soon enough.
posted by 2N2222 at 6:29 AM on June 3, 2015
posted by 2N2222 at 6:29 AM on June 3, 2015
In case anybody needs a related pick-me-up, here are all of Morgan's Brian Fellow's skits available on Yahoo's SNL site. ("That bird is not funny and I better not see him again.")
posted by MCMikeNamara at 6:33 AM on June 3, 2015 [10 favorites]
posted by MCMikeNamara at 6:33 AM on June 3, 2015 [10 favorites]
I wonder how much of that YAY WALMART was part of the settlement agreement.
Do you really? It's too bad that he settled. Mega-corps like Walmart are so beyond the law they are more powerful than most nations on earth, they can kill with impunity. There is no way Morgan and Mack don't win this lawsuit and the publicity of Walmart dragging it on and on in the courts for the next decade would do billions in damage to them in PR.
posted by any major dude at 6:35 AM on June 3, 2015
Do you really? It's too bad that he settled. Mega-corps like Walmart are so beyond the law they are more powerful than most nations on earth, they can kill with impunity. There is no way Morgan and Mack don't win this lawsuit and the publicity of Walmart dragging it on and on in the courts for the next decade would do billions in damage to them in PR.
posted by any major dude at 6:35 AM on June 3, 2015
Sure, it makes sense that they settled. But typically the settlement is "don't talk about us anymore." not "grovel on and on in public about how awesome we are."
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 6:37 AM on June 3, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 6:37 AM on June 3, 2015 [3 favorites]
That was a hard interview to watch; I couldn't finish. I get why his lawyer was at his side though, to make sure that nothing was accidentally given away.
posted by ZeusHumms at 6:38 AM on June 3, 2015
posted by ZeusHumms at 6:38 AM on June 3, 2015
I wonder how much of that YAY WALMART was part of the settlement agreement.
It must be. It looks like he's doing this under duress. At any moment I thought he would turn to the camera and emphatically state that he'll not only shop at Target instead, but will also get it pregnant.
posted by dr_dank at 6:42 AM on June 3, 2015 [16 favorites]
It must be. It looks like he's doing this under duress. At any moment I thought he would turn to the camera and emphatically state that he'll not only shop at Target instead, but will also get it pregnant.
posted by dr_dank at 6:42 AM on June 3, 2015 [16 favorites]
My impression was that he has a lot more healing to do. Brain injuries can cause all kinds of issues, not just intellectual but also emotional. I would not judge what someone who is coming back from a brain injury says too strongly. It's a shame the law does, and that's why his lawyer was there.
posted by bonehead at 6:50 AM on June 3, 2015 [8 favorites]
posted by bonehead at 6:50 AM on June 3, 2015 [8 favorites]
I wonder how much of that YAY WALMART was part of the settlement agreement.
The way the lawyer cut in while Tracy was talking about his nurses to sing Wal-mart's praises and then finished it by saying "Uh, I know that's the thing you really wanted to say, Tracy" as a sloppy cover-up makes it pretty obvious.
posted by IAmUnaware at 6:53 AM on June 3, 2015 [5 favorites]
The way the lawyer cut in while Tracy was talking about his nurses to sing Wal-mart's praises and then finished it by saying "Uh, I know that's the thing you really wanted to say, Tracy" as a sloppy cover-up makes it pretty obvious.
posted by IAmUnaware at 6:53 AM on June 3, 2015 [5 favorites]
It's horrible what one careless second can do to a person and it is very, very humbling. I am relieved he has made it this far, but it is all very infuriating and no matter what is the settlement, it can *never* make up for all that was lost and everything that has been changed against a person's will.
posted by Alexandra Kitty at 6:54 AM on June 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Alexandra Kitty at 6:54 AM on June 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
Um couldn't it be that WAL-MART realized that this could be a PR disaster, and just rolled out the red carpet like crazy to take care of anyone involved in this incident? It's a drop in the bucket to them dollar-wise, and earns them some positive PR. He's got a megaphone like few victims do. If I were WAL-MART, I'd be dumping whatever money at Tracy & Co. it was necessary to keep them happy and satisfied.
posted by leotrotsky at 6:55 AM on June 3, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by leotrotsky at 6:55 AM on June 3, 2015 [5 favorites]
I wonder how much of that YAY WALMART was part of the settlement agreement.
The way the lawyer cut in while Tracy was talking about his nurses to sing Wal-mart's praises and then finished it by saying "Uh, I know that's the thing you really wanted to say, Tracy" as a sloppy cover-up makes it pretty obvious.
Or it could be that Tracy has legitimate memory issues due to head trauma, they discussed ahead of time who they wanted to thank, and he was helping his client out with his lapses? Not everything is a damn conspiracy.
posted by leotrotsky at 6:57 AM on June 3, 2015 [19 favorites]
The way the lawyer cut in while Tracy was talking about his nurses to sing Wal-mart's praises and then finished it by saying "Uh, I know that's the thing you really wanted to say, Tracy" as a sloppy cover-up makes it pretty obvious.
Or it could be that Tracy has legitimate memory issues due to head trauma, they discussed ahead of time who they wanted to thank, and he was helping his client out with his lapses? Not everything is a damn conspiracy.
posted by leotrotsky at 6:57 AM on June 3, 2015 [19 favorites]
Matt Lauer is a turbo douche.
posted by goHermGO at 6:59 AM on June 3, 2015 [19 favorites]
posted by goHermGO at 6:59 AM on June 3, 2015 [19 favorites]
I'm saddened that Tracy Morgan settled, only because people are killed by truck drivers driving irresponsibly (24 hours with no sleep, driving too fast, tail gating, etc etc) fairly often, and it seems that he could have brought a lot of public outcry over how truck drivers are treated and the trucking industry in general. Not everyone hit by a trucker is a media darling, and I am sure their settlements are far less.
Heck, in France the trucks aren't allowed to go faster than predefined kph - and it's rigorously followed (based on my observations driving around France for a month). They have indicators on the back of the truck to let you know how fast trucks will travel on highways. They don't travel in the left lane, ever - and it's a much safer driving experience.
Of course, the man had a severe trauma and shouldn't be expected to make this his soap box while he is still clearly recovering, so I can understand why he settled and is focusing on getting better, but it still saddens me that this wasn't a turning point in US transportation legislation.
posted by Suffocating Kitty at 7:01 AM on June 3, 2015 [3 favorites]
Heck, in France the trucks aren't allowed to go faster than predefined kph - and it's rigorously followed (based on my observations driving around France for a month). They have indicators on the back of the truck to let you know how fast trucks will travel on highways. They don't travel in the left lane, ever - and it's a much safer driving experience.
Of course, the man had a severe trauma and shouldn't be expected to make this his soap box while he is still clearly recovering, so I can understand why he settled and is focusing on getting better, but it still saddens me that this wasn't a turning point in US transportation legislation.
posted by Suffocating Kitty at 7:01 AM on June 3, 2015 [3 favorites]
The problem with not settling, though, is that the lawsuit could have gone on for years and years, and prevented him from getting back to comedy (assuming he's able to / wants to), because Walmart's lawyers would try to use that as evidence that he wasn't injured after all.
posted by Blue Jello Elf at 7:08 AM on June 3, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by Blue Jello Elf at 7:08 AM on June 3, 2015 [3 favorites]
I have not always been Morgan's biggest fan, but he doesn't owe anyone "getting back to making us laugh," and he's clearly suffered a lot/is still. I want to tell him to take it easy, but of course for performers, not performing can be painful in its own way. Poor guy.
posted by emjaybee at 7:13 AM on June 3, 2015 [7 favorites]
posted by emjaybee at 7:13 AM on June 3, 2015 [7 favorites]
Yeah, if you haven't been through the process - here's the thing - it can take YEARS. Years and years and its this thing hanging over your head and you have to talk about it and relive the accident, and deal with the lawyers and be deposed and then be deposed again.
Even with a slam dunk, even with all the resources that someone like Morgan has available, its still a pain in the ass. And, expensive. Even if Morgan could bear the cost of that, could McNair's family? Could Morgan cover the cost for them both? I honestly doubt it.
I don't fault them for settling. Could be, WM knew they'd lose and offered a reasonable settlement (it does happen, believe it or not). Could be, Mcnair's family needed the money and couldn't wait. Could be, they just wanted to put it all behind them, and not have to deal with it it any more.
Most often, its the last one, honestly.
posted by anastasiav at 7:13 AM on June 3, 2015 [11 favorites]
Even with a slam dunk, even with all the resources that someone like Morgan has available, its still a pain in the ass. And, expensive. Even if Morgan could bear the cost of that, could McNair's family? Could Morgan cover the cost for them both? I honestly doubt it.
I don't fault them for settling. Could be, WM knew they'd lose and offered a reasonable settlement (it does happen, believe it or not). Could be, Mcnair's family needed the money and couldn't wait. Could be, they just wanted to put it all behind them, and not have to deal with it it any more.
Most often, its the last one, honestly.
posted by anastasiav at 7:13 AM on June 3, 2015 [11 favorites]
Also he looks like he's aged about fifteen years in the last eighteen months.
posted by shakespeherian at 7:14 AM on June 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by shakespeherian at 7:14 AM on June 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
Matt Lauer is a turbo douche.
If you're lurking and thinking about registering with MetaFilter. This user name is available.
posted by Fizz at 7:16 AM on June 3, 2015 [23 favorites]
If you're lurking and thinking about registering with MetaFilter. This user name is available.
posted by Fizz at 7:16 AM on June 3, 2015 [23 favorites]
I'm with another poster upthread that I thought since I hadn't heard about Tracey Morgan in so long after his accident, I assumed the worst.
It's good to know he's okay(ish) but Wal-Mart continues to be the worst.
posted by Kitteh at 7:17 AM on June 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
It's good to know he's okay(ish) but Wal-Mart continues to be the worst.
posted by Kitteh at 7:17 AM on June 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
the problem with not settling is it's not just him. yes, the trucking industry should change, yes walmart are fuckbags, but it might just be that the most important thing to tracy morgan was making sure his friend's family was taken care of.
posted by nadawi at 7:19 AM on June 3, 2015 [13 favorites]
posted by nadawi at 7:19 AM on June 3, 2015 [13 favorites]
he was helping his client out with his lapses
That's the way it looked to me. He was prompting Tracy more than cutting in, it looked like.
posted by bonehead at 7:55 AM on June 3, 2015 [4 favorites]
That's the way it looked to me. He was prompting Tracy more than cutting in, it looked like.
posted by bonehead at 7:55 AM on June 3, 2015 [4 favorites]
Yeah, I can understand there are A LOT of reasons why it wasn't the right move for Tracy Morgan (and the other impacted parties) to settle, and of course as random person on the internet, I have no perspective into the thought process & millions of variables that went into why he chose to settle - I'm just expressing that it is a shame that this didn't turn into a wake up call for the US.
posted by Suffocating Kitty at 8:03 AM on June 3, 2015
posted by Suffocating Kitty at 8:03 AM on June 3, 2015
I recently discovered that there are Tacy Morgan truthers out there. They show up in comments, talking as though of course we all know Morgan is faking it so he could bilk WalMart out of big money.
It's bizarre. It's impossible to trust those celebrity net worth pages, but reputable earning stats put Morgan into a rich-beyond-rich category. In order for him to fake his injuries, he would have to engage in a very expensive conspiracy, manufacturing evidence and buying off doctors. Why would he do it?
He wouldn't. So why do people insist he did?
I'm going to go ahead and guess the answer is "racism."
posted by maxsparber at 8:23 AM on June 3, 2015 [11 favorites]
It's bizarre. It's impossible to trust those celebrity net worth pages, but reputable earning stats put Morgan into a rich-beyond-rich category. In order for him to fake his injuries, he would have to engage in a very expensive conspiracy, manufacturing evidence and buying off doctors. Why would he do it?
He wouldn't. So why do people insist he did?
I'm going to go ahead and guess the answer is "racism."
posted by maxsparber at 8:23 AM on June 3, 2015 [11 favorites]
Racism is probably part of it, but there are tons of people out there who are just "stupid" and "crazy."
posted by The Card Cheat at 8:34 AM on June 3, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by The Card Cheat at 8:34 AM on June 3, 2015 [4 favorites]
Not everything is a damn conspiracy.
Ha! You must have just gotten your first internets account today!
posted by aught at 8:38 AM on June 3, 2015 [3 favorites]
Ha! You must have just gotten your first internets account today!
posted by aught at 8:38 AM on June 3, 2015 [3 favorites]
motherfuck of course there are truthers. what the fuck is wrong with people? also, yeah, people are stupid and crazy...and they tend to point their crazy stupid ideas at black people a lot.
posted by nadawi at 8:38 AM on June 3, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by nadawi at 8:38 AM on June 3, 2015 [4 favorites]
He was surprisingly intense and entertaining as the monosylabic Mr. Gristle in "Box Trolls", which was generally excellent apart from an out-of-place transphobic subplot.
posted by Slap*Happy at 8:45 AM on June 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Slap*Happy at 8:45 AM on June 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
it just occurred to me that it's shareholders' week in northwest arkansas - i wonder if the timing of the settlement is related...if the lawyers suing walmart knew they'd want it settled by this week, they likely could have used it for leverage.
posted by nadawi at 8:50 AM on June 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by nadawi at 8:50 AM on June 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
NOT defending Walmart here even a tiny little bit, but the interview strongly implied that not only Jimmy Mack's family but pretty much everyone else was going to be taken care of by Walmart. That would be a pretty powerful incentive to settle, but not the kind of thing you'd want to come right out and broadcast.
posted by digitalprimate at 8:51 AM on June 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by digitalprimate at 8:51 AM on June 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
I'm going to go ahead and guess the answer is "racism."
As someone who has worked as a journalist, I can say that people who believe in conspiracies are equal opportunity offenders. They trust no one and say the same slanderous things about their own parents and children. They are just upset because they think now someone got some money and now will live the life of a king and they never will. The only colour they see is green. Never mind the pain and suffering and the life derailment.
Jealousy is an ugly, ugly thing. It is the ugliest emotion fear ever created.
posted by Alexandra Kitty at 8:59 AM on June 3, 2015 [3 favorites]
As someone who has worked as a journalist, I can say that people who believe in conspiracies are equal opportunity offenders. They trust no one and say the same slanderous things about their own parents and children. They are just upset because they think now someone got some money and now will live the life of a king and they never will. The only colour they see is green. Never mind the pain and suffering and the life derailment.
Jealousy is an ugly, ugly thing. It is the ugliest emotion fear ever created.
posted by Alexandra Kitty at 8:59 AM on June 3, 2015 [3 favorites]
As someone who has worked as a journalist, I can say that people who believe in conspiracies are equal opportunity offenders.
I have also worked as a journalist, and, in my experience, if you see black people accused of a conspiracy, and you can't find similar examples of a white person being accused of the same conspiracy, then it's fair to call racism.
I mean, Obama wants to take away our guns is something lobbed at all lefties.
Obama is a secret Muslim Kenyan? Racist.
The "Morgan is faking it to bilk a company" firs in with several preexisting racist tropes about black people, work ethic, and general greed. But this may be a bit of a side-discussion, so I will leave it at that. If you're not convinced it's racist, so be it.
posted by maxsparber at 9:04 AM on June 3, 2015 [7 favorites]
I have also worked as a journalist, and, in my experience, if you see black people accused of a conspiracy, and you can't find similar examples of a white person being accused of the same conspiracy, then it's fair to call racism.
I mean, Obama wants to take away our guns is something lobbed at all lefties.
Obama is a secret Muslim Kenyan? Racist.
The "Morgan is faking it to bilk a company" firs in with several preexisting racist tropes about black people, work ethic, and general greed. But this may be a bit of a side-discussion, so I will leave it at that. If you're not convinced it's racist, so be it.
posted by maxsparber at 9:04 AM on June 3, 2015 [7 favorites]
There's also the possibility some of them are paid shills in the service of Walmart PR.
But yeah, mostly racism I'd wager.
posted by Atom Eyes at 9:20 AM on June 3, 2015
But yeah, mostly racism I'd wager.
posted by Atom Eyes at 9:20 AM on June 3, 2015
Tracy Morgan was never my preferred style of comedian but he never mad me sad before.
Christ we need our transportation situation sorted. 30K dead per year and another 300K seriously injured and we treat it as the cost of doing business.
Unacceptable. Stop fucking accepting it people.
Driving deaths and maimings are the modern wicker man crop sacrifice.
posted by srboisvert at 9:52 AM on June 3, 2015 [7 favorites]
Christ we need our transportation situation sorted. 30K dead per year and another 300K seriously injured and we treat it as the cost of doing business.
Unacceptable. Stop fucking accepting it people.
Driving deaths and maimings are the modern wicker man crop sacrifice.
posted by srboisvert at 9:52 AM on June 3, 2015 [7 favorites]
I have also worked as a journalist, and, in my experience, if you see black people accused of a conspiracy, and you can't find similar examples of a white person being accused of the same conspiracy, then it's fair to call racism.
The confirmation bias, I see. If you don't look, you don't see it. I have seen raging sexists accuse women of making up being raped, and just when I think they just hate women, they make accusations against men, too.
It is in their nature to think everyone is as sick as they are.
There are people who are jealous bullies. They pick on everyone. People think it is personal and get so caught up on defending themselves, they don't see the obvious.
posted by Alexandra Kitty at 9:58 AM on June 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
No doubt Walmart saw this as a PR disaster and paid out some serious Super Bowl commercial money to make nice with Morgan. Sure he could have taken it to a jury and through all the appeals and made his lawyers rich or he could accept ten or twenty million for himself (i'm guessing, it's probably more) and get on with his life. Kudos to him for choosing the latter and I hope he gets well, puts this trauma behind him, and lives a long, happy life.
posted by three blind mice at 10:22 AM on June 3, 2015
posted by three blind mice at 10:22 AM on June 3, 2015
From my vantage point as a non-injured person, I feel like given that it's Walmart I'd look 'em straight in the eye and say "One billion dollars."
As an injured person I'd probably settle for one percent of that.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 10:28 AM on June 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
As an injured person I'd probably settle for one percent of that.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 10:28 AM on June 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
I have also worked as a journalist, and, in my experience, if you see black people accused of a conspiracy, and you can't find similar examples of a white person being accused of the same conspiracy, then it's fair to call racism.
I fear that the racism discussion might be a bit of a derail, but I'd like to posit that the folks who are accusing Tracy Morgan of "faking it" are the same sorts of folks who assumed that Stella Liebeck (the (white) Hot Coffee Lady) was just in it to bilk Mickey D's.
posted by sparklemotion at 10:40 AM on June 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
I fear that the racism discussion might be a bit of a derail, but I'd like to posit that the folks who are accusing Tracy Morgan of "faking it" are the same sorts of folks who assumed that Stella Liebeck (the (white) Hot Coffee Lady) was just in it to bilk Mickey D's.
posted by sparklemotion at 10:40 AM on June 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
As an injured person you just want to get healthy and get your life back. Revenge serves neither of those objectives, but a big fat settlement check serves both. Criticizing this man as a sell out shows a real lack of empathy.
posted by three blind mice at 10:43 AM on June 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by three blind mice at 10:43 AM on June 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
Mod note: We can't hope to and probably shouldn't try to settle in here the question of how much it is racism vs other sorts of terribleness that motivates the shitty conspiracy theories of absent third party jerks. Maybe let that drop at this point.
posted by cortex (staff) at 10:51 AM on June 3, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by cortex (staff) at 10:51 AM on June 3, 2015 [4 favorites]
Man... I had concerns about his occasional state of mental health before any of this happened, I really hope he is surrounded by the right sort of people for the healing and recovery needed now, he seems so injured.
posted by Cosine at 11:17 AM on June 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Cosine at 11:17 AM on June 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
Here's to Tracy and to his health.
Keep on livin' like every week is Shark Week, Trace.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 10:20 PM on June 3, 2015 [3 favorites]
Keep on livin' like every week is Shark Week, Trace.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 10:20 PM on June 3, 2015 [3 favorites]
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