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Netflix aired “The Roast of Kevin Hart,” bringing lots of high-shock-value, offensive, and at times racist jokes that have viewers reeling. 

Kevin Hart has the internet in a bit of a tizzy. 

On Sunday, May 10, Netflix aired “The Roast of Kevin Hart” during the “Netflix Is a Joke” comedy festival, which was loaded with controversial jokes — including one about George Floyd — prompting many viewers to debate the merits of roast comedy, racist jokes, and even Hart to some extent.

During the roast, which was hosted by Shane Gillis and featured Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Tom Brady, Jeff Ross (Roastmaster General), Chelsea Handler, Pete Davidson, Lizzo, Katt Williams, Draymond Green, Na’im Lynn, Tony Hinchcliffe, Big Jay Oakerson, Sheryl Underwood, and Regina Hall, Hinchcliffe closed his set by seemingly suggesting Floyd may be in hell.

“The Black community is so proud of you… right now George Floyd is looking up at us all, laughing so hard he can’t breathe,” he said.

Hart doubled over in laughter, as he did throughout the roast, which included jokes about the death of Underwood’s husband by suicide, Hart’s past affair, abortion, and much more. Meanwhile, as more audiences discover the roast and reactions remain mixed — including many who are defending the tradition of roasting — the backlash is also growing.

Tony Hinchcliffe made a WILD George Floyd joke while roasting Kevin Hart 💀

“The Black community is so proud of you… right now George Floyd is looking up at us all laughing so hard he can’t breathe.” pic.twitter.com/33T2anzhja

— Killa 🌺 (@KillaKreww) May 11, 2026

“There is literally NOTHING funny about how George Floyd was murdered. Allowing that white man or any other man to stand up there and disrespect Us, while laughing, is disgusting,” activist Tamika Mallory wrote in a post on Instagram. “Part of the reason Black folks continue to face SEVERE attacks against our rights, is because some of us think everything is sh—s and giggles. It wasn’t funny AT ALL.”

In the caption, she added, “Somebody please tell our brother Kevin Hart some of us are deeply scarred by what happened to #GeorgeFloyd. It’s NEVER funny to us EVER!”

Over on Threads, comedian and actress Franchesca Ramsey addressed the controversy by calling out what she described as the hypocrisy of wanting to say controversial things without sparking controversy.

“If your perspective as a comedian is ‘nothing is off limits,’ that means you accept that some jokes will offend people,” she wrote. “I don’t understand getting angry or defensive bc people are reacting negatively to jokes that are clearly intended to be offensive/controversial. That kind of material has a very specific audience. Anyone outside of it likely won’t get or like it. That’s just the nature of the beast. People not liking racist jokes aren’t ‘ruining comedy.’ ppl are allowed to not like things!”

Meanwhile, also on Threads, Chad Deshawn, host of “Unconscious Flyness,” added, “I’ll say this about the Kevin Hart roast and be done: There’s a generation of Black kids that grew up in the 80’s and 90’s roasting each other, talking about mama’s, daddy’s, dead grandparents — you name it. You’re not going to tell us ‘yOu DoN’t KnOw WhAt A rOaSt Is…’ WHAT??? We didn’t invent the stove, but we d— sure perfected that MF.”

Others responding included a user on Threads who said, “There were way too many Black people in that room being complicit about them so called jokes.”

Usher opened the roast, while Teyana Taylor, Venus Williams, Serena Williams, and Jennifer Lopez were also in attendance. Since the roast premiered, some of those involved, including Kevin Hart, have issued responses.

Addressing the controversy specifically in a statement to “The Breakfast Club,” Sheryl Underwood said, “Specifically, true roast comedy is not for mainstream domain.”

“You’re talking about Netflix. And I know people don’t agree, but what I thought was good about what The Rock did, everybody was questioning his Blackness, and he really made the connection,” she continued. “It’s a way for us to talk about the issues with humor and come to some common ground. Years ago, you couldn’t say M-word for little people. Couldn’t say R-word for the disabled. Sometimes political correctness does not fit in comedy.”

In a video uploaded to social media, Hart said: “That, my friends, is what the f— a roast is supposed to be.”

“It’s goddamn hard-hitting, relentless jokes of no consequence. It’s the concept of a roast — you go hard or you go home,” he said. “No emotion, no f— feelings. Man, that’s not what a roast is about. Leave the emotions and the feelings at the front f— door. People are coming in, and they’re looking for the shock factor. They’re looking for the crazy reaction about the hard-hitting joke. Let them fly. It’s all in the effort of being funny. It’s that simple.”

Among those responding is Floyd’s family. In a statement to TMZ, Travis Cains, a spokesman for The Gianna and George Floyd Foundation, said Hart’s condoning of the joke was “sad for the culture.” The family also noted that, given Hinchcliffe’s apparent penchant for making jokes at Floyd’s expense, they do not understand why the joke would have been permitted. 

They explained that Floyd’s daughter, Gianna, who was six at the time of his death, is now 12 and has been bullied in school in part because so many platforms continue to make jokes about her father’s death, which occurred violently at the hands of Minneapolis police in May 2020.

“We are trying to rebuild things for our community and make things better in our community,” they continued before adding a slight but pointed jab of their own. “Let’s try to be a little bit more positive — and not sit up there doing colon inspections by white comedians.”

More at TheGrio

TheGrio...

Netflix aired “The Roast of Kevin Hart,” bringing lots of high-shock-value, offensive, and at times racist jokes that have viewers reeling. 

Kevin Hart has the internet in a bit of a tizzy. 

On Sunday, May 10, Netflix aired “The Roast of Kevin Hart” during the “Netflix Is a Joke” comedy festival, which was loaded with controversial jokes — including one about George Floyd — prompting many viewers to debate the merits of roast comedy, racist jokes, and even Hart to some extent.

During the roast, which was hosted by Shane Gillis and featured Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Tom Brady, Jeff Ross (Roastmaster General), Chelsea Handler, Pete Davidson, Lizzo, Katt Williams, Draymond Green, Na’im Lynn, Tony Hinchcliffe, Big Jay Oakerson, Sheryl Underwood, and Regina Hall, Hinchcliffe closed his set by seemingly suggesting Floyd may be in hell.

“The Black community is so proud of you… right now George Floyd is looking up at us all, laughing so hard he can’t breathe,” he said.

Hart doubled over in laughter, as he did throughout the roast, which included jokes about the death of Underwood’s husband by suicide, Hart’s past affair, abortion, and much more. Meanwhile, as more audiences discover the roast and reactions remain mixed — including many who are defending the tradition of roasting — the backlash is also growing.

Tony Hinchcliffe made a WILD George Floyd joke while roasting Kevin Hart 💀

“The Black community is so proud of you… right now George Floyd is looking up at us all laughing so hard he can’t breathe.” pic.twitter.com/33T2anzhja

— Killa 🌺 (@KillaKreww) May 11, 2026

“There is literally NOTHING funny about how George Floyd was murdered. Allowing that white man or any other man to stand up there and disrespect Us, while laughing, is disgusting,” activist Tamika Mallory wrote in a post on Instagram. “Part of the reason Black folks continue to face SEVERE attacks against our rights, is because some of us think everything is sh—s and giggles. It wasn’t funny AT ALL.”

In the caption, she added, “Somebody please tell our brother Kevin Hart some of us are deeply scarred by what happened to #GeorgeFloyd. It’s NEVER funny to us EVER!”

Over on Threads, comedian and actress Franchesca Ramsey addressed the controversy by calling out what she described as the hypocrisy of wanting to say controversial things without sparking controversy.

“If your perspective as a comedian is ‘nothing is off limits,’ that means you accept that some jokes will offend people,” she wrote. “I don’t understand getting angry or defensive bc people are reacting negatively to jokes that are clearly intended to be offensive/controversial. That kind of material has a very specific audience. Anyone outside of it likely won’t get or like it. That’s just the nature of the beast. People not liking racist jokes aren’t ‘ruining comedy.’ ppl are allowed to not like things!”

Meanwhile, also on Threads, Chad Deshawn, host of “Unconscious Flyness,” added, “I’ll say this about the Kevin Hart roast and be done: There’s a generation of Black kids that grew up in the 80’s and 90’s roasting each other, talking about mama’s, daddy’s, dead grandparents — you name it. You’re not going to tell us ‘yOu DoN’t KnOw WhAt A rOaSt Is…’ WHAT??? We didn’t invent the stove, but we d— sure perfected that MF.”

Others responding included a user on Threads who said, “There were way too many Black people in that room being complicit about them so called jokes.”

Usher opened the roast, while Teyana Taylor, Venus Williams, Serena Williams, and Jennifer Lopez were also in attendance. Since the roast premiered, some of those involved, including Kevin Hart, have issued responses.

Addressing the controversy specifically in a statement to “The Breakfast Club,” Sheryl Underwood said, “Specifically, true roast comedy is not for mainstream domain.”

“You’re talking about Netflix. And I know people don’t agree, but what I thought was good about what The Rock did, everybody was questioning his Blackness, and he really made the connection,” she continued. “It’s a way for us to talk about the issues with humor and come to some common ground. Years ago, you couldn’t say M-word for little people. Couldn’t say R-word for the disabled. Sometimes political correctness does not fit in comedy.”

In a video uploaded to social media, Hart said: “That, my friends, is what the f— a roast is supposed to be.”

“It’s goddamn hard-hitting, relentless jokes of no consequence. It’s the concept of a roast — you go hard or you go home,” he said. “No emotion, no f— feelings. Man, that’s not what a roast is about. Leave the emotions and the feelings at the front f— door. People are coming in, and they’re looking for the shock factor. They’re looking for the crazy reaction about the hard-hitting joke. Let them fly. It’s all in the effort of being funny. It’s that simple.”

Among those responding is Floyd’s family. In a statement to TMZ, Travis Cains, a spokesman for The Gianna and George Floyd Foundation, said Hart’s condoning of the joke was “sad for the culture.” The family also noted that, given Hinchcliffe’s apparent penchant for making jokes at Floyd’s expense, they do not understand why the joke would have been permitted. 

They explained that Floyd’s daughter, Gianna, who was six at the time of his death, is now 12 and has been bullied in school in part because so many platforms continue to make jokes about her father’s death, which occurred violently at the hands of Minneapolis police in May 2020.

“We are trying to rebuild things for our community and make things better in our community,” they continued before adding a slight but pointed jab of their own. “Let’s try to be a little bit more positive — and not sit up there doing colon inspections by white comedians.”

More at TheGrio