Chelsea Handler has come out swinging against fellow roasters Shane Gillis and Tony Hinchcliffe following the Netflix roast of Kevin Hart, calling their material racist and a disservice to the man they were supposedly there to celebrate.
Handler made her feelings clear during an appearance on Deon Cole’s Funny Knowing You podcast, where she said she was disgusted by jokes that included references to mob and a quip about Sheryl Underwood’s late husband, who died by suicide.
Those watching the roast could already sense she wasn’t happy, her own time at the microphone made that fairly plain, but she was considerably more direct in the podcast interview.
Handler was clear that her problem wasn’t the jokes aimed at her.
She described the digs about her age and sex life as lazy but largely inconsequential.
What she couldn’t stomach, she said, was what she characterised as straightforward racism dressed up as edgy comedy.
She only agreed to participate in the roast, she explained, because of her longstanding friendship with Hart, dating back to her self-titled sketch comedy series in the 2000s, and she felt he deserved considerably better from his fellow performers.
Her aim, she said, was to try to “elevate” the show.
She and Cole also found common ground on a broader concern, that a growing number of comedians are testing the limits of basic decency rather than genuine comedic craft, emboldened by the current cultural climate around anti-woke sentiment.
The roast had already generated controversy before Handler’s comments.
As TMZ reported, the family of George Floyd expressed fury over a joke Hinchcliffe made about the late civil rights figure, notably the second roast at which he has made such a reference.
Hinchcliffe has not publicly addressed Handler’s criticism.
Gillis, however, had a response ready.
“This is a big moment for Chelsea,” he told TMZ. “I am glad she’s capitalizing. Good for her. We’re all rooting for her. Anyway come see me July 17th at the football stadium in Philly.”
