Kevin Hart is breaking his silence on the backlash surrounding Tony Hinchcliffe’s divisive set at his Netflix roast.
Appearing on The Breakfast Club, Hart addressed the uproar head-on — particularly the George Floyd joke that drew the sharpest criticism. “Yeah, the George Floyd joke, it wasn’t a tasteful joke to our culture, to our audience,” he acknowledged, before adding context: “but if you’re watching the roast, you get why they’re doing it. You get why the racial humor is on the table. I wasn’t shocked. That’s what they do.”
Hinchcliffe’s joke had targeted Hart directly, referencing Floyd — the Black man killed by police in 2020 — in a punchline that sparked widespread condemnation from critics and viewers alike.
Despite the controversy, Hart stopped short of calling Hinchcliffe out. When pressed on whether the comedian crossed the line, he was measured: “I don’t expect less. I don’t expect more.” He even went as far as crediting Hinchcliffe with one of the night’s standout performances, while also praising Pete Davidson’s set — though he was clear that neither comedian’s material reflects his own sensibilities. “Would I tell those jokes? No. But do I get why they’re being told? Yes.”
Hart was equally firm about keeping himself out of the ongoing debate. “Remove me from it. I didn’t say it,” he stated plainly. “Whatever the dialogue is, my rebuttal is simplicity. If you are upset that the night went on, that’s a different conversation. It’s nothing I could do. It’s a production.”
The roast has continued to generate controversy beyond Hinchcliffe’s set. Roughly a week after the special aired on Netflix, fellow roaster Chelsea Handler publicly condemned jokes by both Hinchcliffe and host Shane Gillis as “racist” and “sexist.” She took particular aim at a Gillis joke that drew groans even during the live taping — one that Gillis himself claimed took “three weeks of deliberation” to clear.