Kevin Hart Doubles Down in Defense of Tony Hinchcliffe’s George Floyd Joke at Celeb Roast

Just when you thought conversations about Kevin Hart’s controversial celebrity roast that recently aired on Netflix had died down, it stirred up again on Tuesday after the comedian sat down for an all-new interview – and his comments are not landing well for some people.

If you’ll remember, the “Jumanji” star came under fire recently after a white comedian named Tony Hinchcliffe—who was supposed to be there to roast him—opted instead to take a dig at the late George Floyd (the unarmed man killed by police in Minneapolis in 2020). Specifically, he thought it would be funny to express just how proud the Black community was of the “Ride Along” star, citing Floyd specifically.

“You’ve done well, though, Kevin. The Black community is so proud of you. Right now, George Floyd is looking up at us all laughing so hard that he can’t breathe,” Hinchcliffe said at the time. As you would expect, the backlash came quickly, while Hart has stayed relatively quiet on the matter.

That all changed on Tuesday when he decided to sit down with Charlamagne tha God and Loren Lorosa for a new interview on “The Breakfast Club.” While the chat covered a variety of topics, Hart made his stance clear and addressed everything people had to say about the joke and Hinchcliffe.

“Yeah, the George Floyd joke wasn’t a tasteful joke to our culture, to our audience. But our audience that’s watching the roast—if you’re watching the roast, you get why they’re doing it. Why the racial humor is on the table. I wasn’t shocked. That’s what they do! Go look at the Tom Brady one. That’s what they do, it happens every year when they do a roast. This isn’t new,” Hart explained.

When asked specifically if he thought Hinchcliffe went too far with the joke, Hart simply chalked it up to the comedian being himself and doing his style of comedy, expressing that he didn’t “expect more or less” from him. He then went on to agree with Charlamagne’s point that going too far is the whole point of the roast, adding that he thought Hinchcliffe had one of the best sets of the night.

“Would I tell those jokes? No. But do I get why they’re being told? Yes! I’m not looking at Pete [Davidson, who made a joke about Charlie Kirk’s death] crazy; I’m not looking at Tony crazy! I know what he’s going to do, I know your style of comedy,” Hart said.

He added: “I don’t understand why we [the Black community] stand on a hill, and it becomes like…’they attacking the culture’…it doesn’t have to be that. It literally is: either you’re a fan of this level of content, or you’re not! And if you’re not a fan, then you don’t watch it! So, my last note attached to all of this is very simple, OK? Whatever the headlines, whatever the dialogue is, my rebuttal is simply this: remove me from it; I didn’t say it. If you’re upset that the night went on, then that’s a different conversation. There’s nothing I can do.”

Once Hart’s words began making the rounds on social media, many were quick to express their anger, disgust and shock over his response.

“Once again, he’s dodging responsibility,” wrote one user on YouTube.

Others accused him of allowing money to motivate him to condone the distasteful jokes.

“One thing about Kevin, he’s gonna go up for some racism if it means his pockets will stay lined. What a coon. Stand for nothing ass hobbit,” said another on X/Twitter.

One other user wrote, “KevinHart gave one of the most condescending and arrogance interviews ever on @breakfastclubam. Summary of the whole interview Massa can make whatever joke they want on Kevin platform. It’s funny to him.”

Added another: “Kevin Hart is horrible at handling bad press, his response to the George Floyd joke controversy is as bad as it can get. He keeps saying ‘It wasn’t my joke.’”