NBC canceled comedian Norm Macdonald’s appearance on The Tonight Show after he made comments defending multiple entertainers who have been accused of malfeasance, including Louis C.K. and Roseanne Barr. He stirred up ire by remarking that their victims “didn’t have to go through” what the public figures did, according to The New York Times.
Macdonald, the former Saturday Night Live cast member, said during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that he was “happy the #MeToo movement has slowed down a bit,” and criticized the movement for a lack of “forgiveness” for the performers who had “all their work in their entire life being wiped out in a single day, a moment.”
Louis C.K. wrote the forward for Macdonald’s 2016 book, Based on a True Story. He’s been accused of sexual misconduct by five women. Barr, who gave Macdonald one of his earliest writing jobs on Roseanne, was recently fired from her iconic show’s reboot after a racist tweet in May.
After Macdonald’s comments were made, NBC canceled his appearance, which was supposed to be that night.
“Out of sensitivity to our audience and in light of Norm Macdonald’s comments in the press today, ‘The Tonight Show’ has decided to cancel his appearance on Tuesday’s telecast,” the network said in a statement, according to The Times.
Roseanne and Louis have both been very good friends of mine for many years. They both made terrible mistakes and I would never defend their actions. If my words sounded like I was minimizing the pain that their victims feel to this day, I am deeply sorry.
— Norm Macdonald (@normmacdonald) September 11, 2018
Macdonald has a Netflix show debuting Friday.
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