Kevin Hart broke his silence on “The Roast Of Kevin Hart” during the May 26 episode of “The Breakfast Club” podcast.
Hart addressed jokes made about George Floyd and the racial humor presented during the sets of other comedians by saying that he expected this type of content during the Netflix presentation. He then distanced himself from the situation by reminding fans that he didn’t utter any of the comments that left fans divided.
“My rebuttal is simplistic,” Hart said.
“Remove me from it, I didn’t say it.”
Hart began by addressing a joke about George Floyd made by Tony Hinchcliffe.
“Yeah, the George Floyd joke wasn’t a tasteful joke to our [black] culture, to our [black] audience,” Hart said.
“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.”
He continued, “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.”
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – SEPTEMBER 13: Tony Hinchcliffe attends the Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford Netflix Live Event at Allegiant Stadium on September 13, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Bryan Steffy/Getty Images)
Charlamagne tha God asked Hart if he felt Hinchcliffe took the joke too far, to which he replied, “It’s Tony Hinchcliffe. Like I don’t expect less, I don’t expect more.”
“I hate to say this, but I’m going to because we’re being honest. People are talking about that joke. Talk about a set,” Hart said.
“Tony Hinchcliffe arguably had the best set, or one of the best sets. Would I tell those jokes? No. But do I get why they’re being told? Yes.”
Hart made it clear that uncomfortable viewers could opt not to watch the roast, or to move on without conflict if one of Hinchcliffe’s jokes didn’t resonate with them.
“I don’t understand why we stand on a hill, and it becomes like this big thing of like, ‘Oh, man, the motherfuckers, they do this, and they’re attacking the culture.’ It doesn’t have to be that,” he said.
“It literally is either you’re a fan of this level of content, or you’re not. And if you’re not a fan, then you don’t watch it.”
Addressing the criticism as a whole, Hart reminded listeners that the nature of a roast is to push boundaries, but asserted that he didn’t feel he had to answer to the backlash since his words were not the ones in question. (RELATED: Black Comic Praises ‘Uncomfortable Humor’ After Chelsea Handler Whines About ‘Racist’ Shane Gillis Jokes)
“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?” Hart said.
“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.”