Tony Hinchcliffe is speaking directly to critics who slammed his jokes during the roast of Kevin Hart. Social media has been divided for days.
Meanwhile, the conversation exploded after Chelsea Handler publicly criticized Hinchcliffe during an appearance on the Funny Knowing You podcast. Since then, clips from the roast have gone viral across X, TikTok, and Instagram, with fans debating whether the jokes crossed a line.
Tony Hinchcliffe Responds To Racism Allegations Following Kevin Hart Roast
Last week, Chelsea Handler went viral after she accused Tony Hinchcliffe and Shane Gillis of being racist over jokes made during the Netflix roast honoring Kevin Hart. During her appearance on the Funny Knowing You podcast, Handler did not hold back when discussing the special and the reactions surrounding it.
“It’s just everything we know, that they’re racist, that they’re bigots, they’re sexist,” Handler said during the interview.
“No. I mean, it was ick. It was gross.”
Handler specifically pointed to one joke made by Shane Gillis during the special. The joke referenced lynching, which immediately sparked backlash online from viewers who felt the topic should never be used for comedy.
“Kevin is so short, you’d have to lynch him from a bonsai tree,” Gillis said during the episode.
Handler later added:
“I don’t find those jokes to be funny. Jokes about lynching Black people, lynching is not a joke. That’s worse than rape.”
The comments instantly spread online. Some fans applauded Handler for speaking up, while others accused her of trying to police comedy. That debate has become a recurring issue in entertainment lately, especially as comedians continue pushing darker material for shock value and viral reactions. Streaming platforms keep leaning into roast culture because controversy sells. Apparently public discomfort now counts as audience engagement metrics.
Still, many viewers argued that jokes involving race and historical violence hit differently, especially in front of mainstream audiences. Critics online said the roast leaned too heavily on edgy humor instead of clever writing. Others defended the comedians and argued that roasts are designed to offend everyone equally.
Tony Hinchcliffe Fires Back During Kill Tony Set
Tony Hinchcliffe eventually addressed the controversy during a recent set on his popular live comedy show Kill Tony. During the performance, he responded directly to accusations that he was racist or even a Nazi after the roast aired.
“Kevin Hart was something else, huh? It’s the first time I’ve been called a Nazi multiple times in just a few hours. I guess that’s what LA writers’ rooms are. All these mentally ill liberals out there that somehow the guy who pulls names out of a bucket, giving everybody an opportunity, is a Nazi. Isn’t that something?”
Hinchcliffe continued by criticizing entertainers and television personalities who he believes rely too heavily on scripted material instead of authentic comedy.
“I was called that by a bunch of people who have never written anything in their lives, who literally have just been reading cue cards and teleprompters, every project they’ve ever done, with the inability to improvise whatsoever, no opportunity to have their own thoughts. They just read what the writers wrote for them without any originality whatsoever.”
He later added:
“I got called a Nazi, gay, a racist, over and over again. I’m none of those three things. A little fun fact, but they are fat, ugly, black, and Jewish. Everything I said about them was real.”
That particular line immediately generated another wave of reactions online. Critics accused Hinchcliffe of making the situation worse with inflammatory remarks, while supporters argued he was simply doubling down on roast-style comedy. Either way, the internet grabbed the clip and did what it always does: turned outrage into content within six minutes flat.
The situation also reignited broader conversations about cancel culture, comedy boundaries, and whether comedians should face accountability for offensive material. Some people believe comedy should remain unrestricted no matter how uncomfortable the jokes become. Others argue there is a clear difference between edgy humor and harmful rhetoric.
Tony Hinchcliffe Also Targets Chelsea Handler Over Roast Comments
During the same Kill Tony appearance, Hinchcliffe also went directly at Chelsea Handler over her criticism and her own performance during the roast. The comedian mocked media reports claiming Handler had successfully “lit him up” after the Netflix special aired.
“There’s news articles that say that I got lit up by Chelsea Handler, which is very, very funny, because that’s not what happened at all. You can’t believe anything you see or read on the news anymore. You have actually to watch the thing for yourself. She was a bit of a c-nt, I’ll tell you that.”
Hinchcliffe also blamed roast writers and production issues for Handler’s performance during the event.
“The writers just didn’t do her any justice. But then the teleprompter, fun fact, the teleprompter only went down during my set. And it gave me a lot of opportunity to remind Chelsea Handler what she looks like and where her life is, because she had it coming.”
He continued:
“Everybody wants to go up early in those things and so what they don’t realize is that I’m sitting there watching what they’re doing. So when Chelsea kept coming at me, I’m like, oh, I’m gonna f-ck this b-tch up.”
Hinchcliffe later joked about his own appearance after the roast and used Handler as the punchline.
“It was so rough. I looked like I woke up looking like Chelsea Handler. That’s how rough my night was. I just had, like, that Botox swollen, inflamed face that just, you know, seems like you used to be successful 15 years ago and you’re not anymore. You know what I mean? Felt like that worst feeling. Then I just took a two hour nap and I was back to being one of the best in the world.”
The comments added even more fuel to an already chaotic debate online. Supporters of Handler accused Hinchcliffe of punching down and leaning into personal attacks. Meanwhile, fans of roast comedy argued the entire point of a roast is to go as hard as possible without limitations.