Kevin Hart's Response to Netflix Roast Criticism: "Remove Me from It, I didn't Say It"
Back on Sunday, May 10, Netflix aired the live special, The Roast of Kevin Hart. In what was supposed to be a celebration of Kevin Hart's career, mixed with snide comedic jabs about him from some of comedy's funniest men and women, has become a memory marred by backlash. Particularly, many viewers of the special took issue with a joke comedian Tony Hinchcliffe made about George Floyd, a man who lost his life in May 2020 due to then-officer Derek Chauvin. Hinchcliffe stated in his joke:
"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."
Since the Hinchcliffe material from the roast aired, there have been several individuals across social media platforms and celebs who have weighed in with their frustrations with Hinchcliffe or defense of his comedic material. Fast forward to May 26, and Hart himself is finally addressing the backlash.
Hart: "My Job Was to Produce a Successful Roast, Which I Did"
On the morning of May 26, Hart stopped by the famous syndicated morning show, The Breakfast Club, with hosts Charlamagne Tha God, DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, and Loren Lorosa. The hosts wasted no time asking Hart about the fallout from his Netflix comedy roast, and he finally addressed the issue head-on. The Think Like a Man star stated:
"Yeah, the George Floyd joke wasn't a tasteful joke to our [Black] culture, to our [Black] audience. But our audience that's watching the roast, if you're watching the roast, you get why they're doing it. You get why the racial humor is on the table. It's not, 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. It's not new."
When Charlamagne asked Hart directly if he believed Hinchcliffe went too far making the joke about Floyd, Hart responded, "It's Tony Hinchcliffe. Like I don't expect less, I don't expect more." The Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle went on to say, beyond the joke, Hinchcliffe arguably had "one of the best sets." Additionally, Hart confirmed he himself wouldn't tell a joke like the Floyd joke, but gets why it was told.
Giving an overarching response to the criticisms of his roast, Hart shared:
"My rebuttal is simplistic. Remove me from it, I didn't say it. If you are upset as the night went on, that's a different conversation. There's nothing I can do. It's a production. It's a live production. I'm not compromising the live production for a reaction, of what? What do you want me to do? I'm supposed to drag him off? You want me to fight afterwards? That's not what I agreed to do. That's not the job at hand. The job at hand was to produce a successful roast, which I did."
Kevin Hart admits the George Floyd joke at his roast wasn't "tasteful" but he's also not surprised it was made
— Block Topickz (@BlockTopickz) May 26, 2026
"People are talking about the joke, talk about the set. Tony Hinchcliffe arguably had the best set or one of the best sets"
: @breakfastclubam@LorenLorosapic.twitter.com/LNqcCzFjtU
You can take a look at Hart's response in the clip below. And again, The Roast of Kevin Hart is streaming on Netflix.
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This story was originally published by Men's Journal on May 26, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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This story was originally published May 26, 2026 at 12:30 PM.