Sheryl Underwood made a surprise appearance on Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast, sitting down with Shane Gillis for a conversation that touched on the Netflix roast of Kevin Hart, her late husband, and her upcoming comedy projects.
The veteran comedian addressed the elephant in the room early, explaining why she had no issue with the personal jokes directed at her during the roast, including material referencing her husband’s passing.
“If they had not come with respect and said, ‘These are the topics,’ I wouldn’t have agreed,” she told the hosts. “Feeling safe, feeling like I’m not being attacked, so I don’t have to be defensive. I don’t have to be thin-skinned.”
Underwood also opened up about her improvisational approach during the roast, with much of her response material being unscripted. “Faith in God. Ask God, send me the words,” she explained. “When he passed, we cracked jokes… In stress, sometimes humor equalizes stress.”
She also noted that culturally, using humor to process tragedy has always been a part of her upbringing, pointing to how her family handled grief through laughter.
On the controversy surrounding Tony Hinchcliffe‘s George Floyd joke, Underwood was measured.
“The Floyd family should be upset. There should be a crew of people that are mad because that’s the reaction you have. You’re not thinking about freedom of speech, you’re thinking about your brother who was m**dered.”
She added that Pete Davidson’s Charlie Kirk joke served as a counterbalance. Shane agreed and stated, “You got to be offended by both or neither.”
Gillis, who attended the roast afterparty with Bud Light in hand, made a strong impression on Underwood.
“When you walked up to me with the Bud Light in hand, I said, ‘That’s the guy.'” She also shared that a backstage conversation with Dwayne Johnson made the night even more memorable.
