Overview
- On Wednesday Chelsea Handler told Deon Cole’s podcast that Shane Gillis and Tony Hinchcliffe told “gross” jokes at Netflix’s Roast of Kevin Hart and labeled their material racist, sexist and bigoted.
- Handler singled out Gillis’s bonsai/lynching line and Hinchcliffe’s reference to Sheryl Underwood’s late husband as examples she found unacceptable.
- Gillis responded dismissively with a statement promoting his tour dates, while Underwood later said on Gillis’s podcast that she was not offended and had been consulted about the jokes.
- The exchange has renewed scrutiny of who writes roast material and the racial makeup of writing teams after public criticism from comics such as Michael Che and reports that some families objected to specific jokes.
- Coverage so far shows continued public debate over roast boundaries and platform responsibility, with no public reversal from Netflix and reporters noting Gillis’s prior 2019 SNL firing as background to how audiences read his intent.