The Netflix roast of Kevin Hart quickly became one of the internet’s biggest talking points, and during a recent episode of Don Lemon’s podcast, he sat down with comedians Chelsea Handler and Sheryl Underwood to unpack the controversy surrounding the event.
Much of the discussion centered on comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, whose material drew audible groans from the crowd and sparked backlash online.
Lemon opened the conversation by admitting that even as someone familiar with roast culture, parts of the show left him uneasy.
“I’ve watched many roasts, you know, the Comedy Central roast and at times I felt like a little bit uncomfortable with this one and I was like is this good? Is it bad? I think ultimately it’s probably good, but it’s gotten a lot of criticism,” Lemon said.
Handler did not hesitate when asked about Hinchcliffe’s performance.
“They are vile. Tony Hinchcliffe is like, come on,” she said. “It was gross. Some of the stuff is really gross. And I mean, I get it. I guess that’s the spirit of a roast, but even I don’t know. I find it all to be pretty ick.”
When the conversation shifted toward whether certain jokes crossed a line, Handler made it clear she felt some topics simply should not be used for comedy.
“I don’t think jokes like that are necessary,” she said. “It’s like if you can’t think of things to say in a more clever way, why would you ever make a joke about a noose? Like it’s just not acceptable.”
Lemon then questioned whether comedians sometimes use humor as a shield for prejudice.
“Is it sometimes people just wrapping their bigotry, their unconscious bias, their racism in a joke?” Lemon asked. “Haha, I should be able to say it and say something racist just because I’m a comedian. Do you think that sometimes it’s a cover for just being a bigot?”
Handler agreed that comedy can sometimes be used as a disguise for uglier beliefs.
“I mean, it can be,” she responded. “I think a comedian could be a cover for a lot of things… I think it’s lame in its cover. And I also just feel like we’re in an era that’s pretty… like it’s the de ath cough almost of like white male patriarchy and people are having a fit.”
She continued by arguing that some comedians hide behind stage personas to distance themselves from the material they deliver.
“I think sometimes with comedy, you know, people can get away with saying kind of really gross, ugly stuff by saying pretending they’re a persona and that this is my persona,” Handler said. “’It’s not really me. I’m not a racist.’ They can pretend that that’s not really who they are. But it kind of is like when it’s really who you are it comes across that’s who you are.”
Later in the segment, Sheryl Underwood joined the discussion after Lemon played several of Hinchcliffe’s jokes, including material referencing George Floyd and Bill Cosby.
“I don’t find him to be funny,” Lemon said directly. “I don’t find his brand of humor funny at all.”
Underwood then referenced Hinchcliffe’s past controversy involving comments about Puerto Ricans made during a political rally. “He was the guy that made the statement about the Puerto Rican people at the rally, right?” Underwood asked.
Additionally, Underwood pointed to the crowd’s reaction as evidence that much of the material simply did not land.
“You notice that the audience didn’t laugh at a lot of that stuff,” she said. “They groaned, which they should have.”
