Dane Cook performs comedy at the Comic Relief event in Las Vegas in November 2006. - Provided courtesy of flickr.com/photos/dlanger

Dane Cook apologizes after joking about Aurora shooting

07/27/2012 by Olivia Allin

Dane Cook apologized after joking about the Aurora, Colorado "Dark Knight Rises" shooting in a comedy routine on Thursday.

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The 40-year-old comedian received criticism for statements made during his comedy routine at the Laugh Factory in Los Angeles on July 26.

"I heard that the guy came into the theater about 25 minutes into the movie, I don't know if you've seen the movie, but it's pretty much a piece of crap. Yeah, spoiler alert," Cook said. "I know that if none of that would have happened, pretty sure that somebody in that theater, about 25 minutes in, realizing it was a piece of crap, was probably like 'ugh [expletive] shoot me.'"

His comments were met with groans and uncomfortable laughter, which eventually turned into applause.

Cook apologized on July 27, Tweeting, "I am devastated by the recent tragedy in Colorado & did not mean to make light of what happened. I made a bad judgment call with my material last night & regret making a joke at such a sensitive time. My heart goes out to all of the families & friends of the victims."

The massacre claimed the lives of 12 people and injured at least 59 others and marked the deadliest attack in the United States since 2009. The accused shooter, James Holmes, is expected to be charged next week.

Earlier in the week, "Dark Knight Rises" star Christian Bale visited Aurora, Colorado to meet with several people who survived the deadly mass shooting on July 20.

Bale, co-star Anne Hathaway and Christopher Nolan, who directed the Batman movie, had previously issued statements expressing their condolences in wake of the tragedy, which claimed the lives of 12 people and injured at least 58 others. It was the deadliest shooting in the United States since 2009. The accused gunman James Holmes, is expected to be charged next week.

"Words cannot express the horror that I feel," Bale had said. "I cannot begin to truly understand the pain and grief of the victims and their loved ones, but my heart goes out to them."

"My heart aches and breaks for the lives taken and altered by this unfathomably senseless act," Anne Hathaway said in a statement. "I am at a loss for words how to express my sorrow. My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families."

Watch a clip of Dane Cook's routine, which was captured by The Daily Caller, below. (Warning: Explicit language)