Chelsea Handler Denounces 2 Kevin Hart Roasters as Shane Gillis Shrugs Off Backlash
Updated
Updated · Variety · May 21
Chelsea Handler Denounces 2 Kevin Hart Roasters as Shane Gillis Shrugs Off Backlash
5 articles · Updated · Variety · May 21
Chelsea Handler said more than a week after Netflix’s live “The Roast of Kevin Hart” that Shane Gillis and Tony Hinchcliffe delivered “racist” and “sexist” material she found “gross” and beneath Hart.
Handler singled out Gillis’ lynching joke about Hart and jokes targeting Sheryl Underwood’s late husband, saying lynching is not a joking matter and that she was not comfortable with suicide-based punchlines.
Shane Gillis responded with a dismissive statement to Variety, saying Handler was having “a big moment” before plugging his July 17 show at Philadelphia’s football stadium.
Hours later, Gillis posted a podcast episode with Underwood, who said she had not been offended by the jokes and argued that uncomfortable humor can ease tension and stress.
Has the televised comedy roast become too risky for mainstream platforms in an era of heightened public scrutiny?
When the target of a joke says they aren't offended, who gets to decide if the humor crossed a line?