Kevin Hart finally broke his silence on the most controversial moment from his Netflix roast. The comedian addressed Tony Hinchcliffe’s George Floyd joke and explained why he refuses to take sides in the ongoing debate.
Kevin Hart addresses Tony Hinchcliffe’s joke controversy
Kevin Hart defended Tony Hinchcliffe’s controversial set at his Netflix roast during a recent interview. Hart told The Breakfast Club on Tuesday that Hinchcliffe “arguably had the best set or one of the best sets.” He also praised Pete Davidson’s performance at the event.
Hinchcliffe drew backlash for a joke about George Floyd during The Roast of Kevin Hart. He told Hart, “The Black community is so proud of you. Right now, George Floyd is looking up at us all laughing so hard he can’t breathe.” Hart acknowledged the joke lacked taste but defended the roast format.
Hart explained his perspective on the controversial material with a measured stance. “Yeah, the George Floyd joke, it wasn’t a tasteful joke to our culture, to our audience,” Hart said. He added that roast viewers understand why racial humor appears in such settings. Hart also pointed to The Roast of Tom Brady as a precedent for edgy material.
When asked about Hinchcliffe crossing lines, Hart kept his response brief. “I don’t expect less. I don’t expect more,” he said. Hart also distanced himself from the ongoing discourse around the roast. “Remove me from it. I didn’t say it,” Hart stated. He called the event “a production” and said the situation was beyond his control.
About a week after the roast aired, Chelsea Handler criticized both Hinchcliffe and host Shane Gillis. She called their jokes “racist” and “sexist.” Handler took particular issue with a Gillis joke about lynching Hart from a bonsai tree.
Gillis had maintained during the live broadcast that his joke took “three weeks of deliberation.”
Originally reported by Anubhav Chaudhry on ComingSoon.net.
