Kevin Hart Defends Roast Jokes After Backlash
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- Kevin Hart said on The Breakfast Club that Tony Hinchcliffe's George Floyd joke was "not tasteful" but understandable to the roast audience, and that he doesn’t expect less or more from comedians.
- Tony Hinchcliffe delivered a controversial joke about George Floyd during the Netflix roast, saying "George Floyd is looking up at us all laughing so hard he can’t breathe," which sparked backlash.
- Chelsea Handler publicly condemned the roast's jokes, calling the Hinchcliffe racial gag and Gillis's lynching quip "racist," "sexist," and "worse than rape."
- Shane Gillis made a joke about Kevin Hart being so short he'd have to be lynched from a bonsai tree, which Handler described as "gross" and unacceptable.
- Netflix aired "The Roast of Kevin Hart," featuring comedians including Tony Hinchcliffe, Pete Davidson, and Shane Gillis, which has generated controversy over its content.
Why it matters: Netflix, still feeling shareholder pressure after Reed Hastings' exit, now faces criticism from at least one high‑profile figure, risking subscriber churn and tighter scrutiny of future comedy specials.
