“30 Rock” star and sometime-Sarah Palin stand-in Tina Fey is speaking out against controversial comments by Rep. Todd Akin (R), the Missouri Senate candidate fighting for Sen. Claire McCaskill’s (D) seat.
Speaking at the Center for Reproductive Rights Inaugural Gala in New York on Wednesday, the “Saturday Night Live” alumna said, “I wish we could have an honest and respectful dialogue about these complicated issues, but it seems like we can’t right now. And if I have to listen to one more gray-faced man with a $2 haircut explain to me what rape is, I’m going to lose my mind.”
During an August radio interview, Akin said that “legitimate rape” wouldn’t lead to pregnancy because “the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down." He later apologized for the remarks.
Fey, a mom of two, had the crowd laughing when she cracked, “I watch these guys, and I’m like, ‘What is happening? Am I a secretary on "Mad Men"?’ ” citing the hit AMC show set in a 1960s workplace.
“Todd Akin claims that women can’t really get pregnant from a legitimate rape because the body secretes hormones,” said Fey. She paused before adding, “I can’t even finish this sentence without getting dumber … But it’s something about the body not being able to get pregnant when it’s under physical stress. Mr. Akin, I think you’re confusing the phrase 'legitimate rape' with the phrase 'competitive gymnastics.' ”
