TBS late-night host George Lopez apologized via his Twitter page Thursday for comparing “Dancing With the Stars” contestant Kirstie Alley to a pig on his show Wednesday, but Alley wasn’t having it.
On Wednesday, Lopez said of her dancing on the ABC show, "She did a nice job, her little hooves tapping away. Before the show, she went to the market, and then she had roast beef and this is her going all the way home,” before cutting to a squealing pig from a GEICO commercial.
After a firestorm of criticism, Lopez apologized Thursday, Tweeting, “I misjudged the joke. No malice was intended and I apologize to Kirstie.”
Alley responded to Lopez’s comments, also via Twitter, saying, “Don't worry about George's comments...just remember what happens to the big bad, drunk woolf...falls in a boiling pot of vodka.Piggy laughs”
On Friday, she added another Tweet slamming the comedian.
"I don't consider "I misjudged the joke" an apology. sorta like a husband saying"I misjudged putting my d**k in a whore" ...sorry hon..hehe"
Many were not amused by Lopez’s callous “joke,” considering that 60-year-old Alley has struggled very publicly with weight issues over the years, at one point tipping the scales at 230 pounds and sparking speculation she suffers with a compulsive eating disorder.
Rather than apologizing on air during his show, Lopez opted for Twitter, using 60 characters of the 140 characters allotted. During his monologue last night, Lopez didn’t even mention Alley, but took a few minutes to make fun of Shaquille O’Neill’s weight (joking that he couldn’t be pulled away from the Wendy’s drive-through) and Kim Kardashian’s as well (joking that W magazine ran out of ink when trying to cover her assets on her nude cover).
TBS declined to comment on Lopez’s remarks.
Experts slammed Lopez’s comments to FOX411's Pop Tarts column on Thursday. "Lopez's comments were not only demeaning to Alley, who has been incredibly brave and open with her journey toward health, but they were very detrimental to women and girls everywhere," said Yana Walton, Vice President of Communications for watchdog group the Women’s Media Center. "In a country where eating disorders are an epidemic, where advertising continually implies women are deeply deficient, where media places the majority of women's worth on their appearances, this is unacceptable."
“Lopez should use his creativity to make jokes that aren’t this harmful," Walton said. "And Alley should be judged on her dancing. After all, this is a show about dance - it's not 'The Biggest Loser.’”
Terri Dougherty, editor of Women Magazine, feels some in Hollywood need to shape up and actually produce some original, funny material.
“Lopez made a cheap shot that simply was not very funny. Dancing is excellent exercise and I'm happy to see Kirstie out there. Making fun of a person's looks may be a standard part of comedians' acts, but this certainly was not a fresh or humorous take,” she said.
Author of “Love Your Body, Love Your Life” Sarah Maria said Lopez’s snide jab at Alley is offensive to all women.
“Lopez’s attempt at comedy is cruel, demeaning, and insulting. In an apparent attempt to make people laugh, Lopez chooses insults over intelligence,” she said. “Did Lopez even graduate from pre-school? Even without considering Alley’s personal ongoing weight struggle, such a cruel comment is an insult to women and men everywhere. One hopes that after pre-school, maybe at the very latest grade school, children outgrow such hurtful and inane comments.”
But it isn’t only male comedians making disparaging weight-related remarks. Just a few months ago, comedian Kathy Griffin launched a “fat” attack against last season’s “Dancing With the Stars” contestant Bristol Palin, likening her to the 350-pound fictional character “Precious.”
FoxNews.com's Hollie McKay contributed to this report.
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