IF TRACY Morgan is anything like the character he plays in the sitcom 30 Rock, then he is the kind of guy everybody wants to hang out with all the time.

The fictional character Tracy Jordan in the hit TV show is random, eccentric and says the funniest thing on and off camera.

The real Tracy, however, is also random and eccentric except that when he opens his mouth, the things that he says are not always funny.

Earlier this month, the comedian got into a lot of trouble after going on an anti-gay tirade during a stand-up comedy set in Nashville, Tennessee.

Morgan

The actor said that being gay is by choice because “God don’t make no mistakes” and that if his own son was to come out of the closet, he would take a knife and stab him.

Of course that statement didn’t sit well with everyone who quickly took to their Facebook and Twitter accounts to slam the actor for his abusive rant.

The actor even went as far as to say that gays shouldn’t whine about something as “insignificant as bullying”. This just comes across as plain ignorant and insensitive on Tracy’s part, especially when there are many teens out there who commit suicide as the result of being bullied by their peers.

Celebrities, unfortunately, do not always understand the impact their words have on society, and just how much young people try to emulate them.

In another instance, Russell Crowe, known for his hot-headedness, also got into a mess after he asked his Jewish friends to reject circumcision for their children.

The Oscar-winning actor posted on his Twitter account that circumcision is “barbaric and stupid” and asked “Is it real that God requires a donation of foreshin? Babies are perfect.”

He also said, “I love my Jewish friends, I love the apples and the honey and the funny little hats, but stop cutting your babies.”

These anti-circumcision tweets got his fans riled up and later the actor took down most of his offensive tweets and posted: “I have a deep and abiding love for all people of all nationalities. I’m very sorry that I have said things on here that have caused distress. My personal beliefs aside I realise that some will interpret this debate as me mocking the rituals and traditions of others. I am very sorry.”

While it is easy for the actors to apologise for their statements, they are not always forgiven by the public who don’t seem to forget the celebrities’ mistakes that easily.

At the recent Cannes Film Festival in France, director Lars Von Trier rambled about the Nazis, Hitler and Jews at the press conference for his film Melancholia.

“For a long time I thought I was a Jew and I was happy to be a Jew, then I met (Danish and Jewish director) Susanne Bier and I wasn’t so happy. But then I found out I was actually a Nazi. My family were German. And that also gave me some pleasure. What can I say? I understand Hitler … I sympathise with him a bit,” he was quote as saying.

Not stopping there, the director continued: “I don’t mean I’m in favour of World War II and I’m not against Jews, not even Susanne Bier. In fact I’m very much in favour of them. All Jews. Well, Israel is a pain in the ass but …”

While we are not sure how long it will take for the public to forgive and forget Lars’ rant, the amount of time Oscar-winning actor Mel Gibson has spent in the dog house for his anti-Semitic rant would give us a rough estimation.

The Braveheart director who also slammed the Jews in a drunken tirade a few years ago, is yet to return to his fittest form – physically, mentally and career-wise.

He's still making movies, but no one is watching

He had a bad breakup with his girlfriend and baby mama, Oksana Grigorieva, which soon turned ugly after the actor allegedly threatened to kill her.

Mel tried to make a “comeback” with the movie The Beaver, directed by his long-time friend Jodie Foster, and released in the United States last month, but unfortunately the public didn’t want any of it.

The movie was a total flop, and according to many reviews, it was simply because the public didn’t want to see the movie as they were tired of the actor and his crazy antics.

His fall from grace should serve as a warning to fellow celebrities who suffer from the dreaded foot-in-mouth disease.

This is the one illness they wouldn’t want to have.

Sharm says: Like Mark Twain said “It’s better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.”