And now for something touching and heartfelt, so how about you just set aside all those Wal-Mart zingers for a couple of minutes, okay? Tracy Morgan appeared on the Today show this morning and gave his first interview since the 2014 crash that nearly killed him, and did kill his friend and fellow comic James McNair. In an eight minute live segment, the comedian visibly chokes up while discussing McNair, his painful recovery, and his struggles to recover from the head trauma that almost ended his life.
“There are times where I have my good days and my bad days, where I forget things,” Morgan said, struggling to maintain his composure. “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.” While the comedian says he eventually plans to return to performing (“I love comedy and I can’t wait to get back to her”), for now he is still focusing on his recovery and trying to get back to health, or as close as he can to it.
As for the accident itself, Morgan says he doesn’t remember it. It wasn’t until some time after coming out of his coma that he eventually decided to go on YouTube to see video of the both the accident and McNair’s funeral—images that were difficult to see, but Morgan felt were necessary. “I had to know what happened to my friend. I had to know. I had to pay my respects, and that was my way,” he said.
As for that whole recently settled Wal-Mart lawsuit, Morgan says the company “stepped up to the plate in a tremendous way” and “took full responsibility,” bringing the total number of times that Wal-Mart has taken responsibility for the harm it inflicts on the world to exactly one. Okay, maybe you don’t need to stow those Wal-Mart comments after all.