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2h ago

Outcry Grows Over Tony Hinchcliffe’s George Floyd Joke at Kevin Hart Roast

Family members and advocates say the Netflix special crossed a line by turning a murder into a punchline.

Mandatory Credit: Photo by CRAIG LASSIG/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock (10667561j) Former NBA player Stephen Jackson speaks to the press at a news conference about Floyd's death while under arrest, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, 02 June 2020. A bystander's video posted online on 25 May, shows George Floyd, 46, pleading with arresting officers that he couldn't breathe as one officer knelt on his neck. The unarmed black man soon became unresponsive, and was later pronounced dead. According to news reports on 29 May, Derek Chauvin, the police officer in the center of the incident has been taken into custody and charged with murder in the George Floyd killing. Minneapolis Police Abuse Protest, USA - 02 Jun 2020

Overview

  • Tony Hinchcliffe referenced George Floyd’s last words during Netflix’s Roast of Kevin Hart, drawing gasps and laughs in the room.
  • Terrence Floyd said Kevin Hart should have stopped the set and criticized Netflix and the producers for airing the line without an edit.
  • He pointed to Will Smith’s onstage response at the 2022 Oscars as the kind of real-time accountability he expected during the roast.
  • Stephen Jackson, a close friend of Floyd, told followers that people only stop laughing when the victim is their own family member.
  • Kevin Hart later defended the roast format, Hinchcliffe has not responded, Netflix has announced no edits, and critics note he made a similar Floyd reference during the 2024 Tom Brady roast.