Both Tony Hinchcliffe and Shane Gillis reached out to Sheryl Underwood personally before the roast to inform her they would be discussing her late husband, demonstrating respect and advance notice. The comedians argue this was traditional roast protocol where everything is supposedly on the table.
Sources close to the situation say other comedians are distancing themselves from the backlash. SNL's Michael Che reportedly pulled out of Hart's roast entirely before it happened — and his Instagram criticism suggests he saw the writing on the wall. Meanwhile, insiders note Chelsea Handler's public blast was particularly damaging given her close friendship with Hart.
Hinchcliffe joked during the May 2026 Netflix special: 'Right now George Floyd is looking at us all and laughing so hard that he can't breathe.' Gillis added: 'Kevin's so short they're going to have to lynch him from a bonsai tree.' Underwood told ET she didn't know exactly what they were going to say about her late husband — who died by suicide in 1990 — despite receiving advance warning calls.
This roast was supposed to celebrate Kevin Hart's career. Instead, it gave the internet a masterclass in how not to read a room — and Sheryl Underwood just made sure everyone knows exactly which jokes crossed the line.
Sheryl Underwood is done smiling through discomfort. The former "The Talk" host sat down with Entertainment Tonight on Thursday to address Netflix's controversial "The Roast of Kevin Hart," and she's making it abundantly clear that some jokes went way too far — specifically targeting race, tragedy, and her own late husband. During the May 2026 Netflix special, Tony Hinchcliffe drew the loudest gasps when he said, "Right now George Floyd is looking at us all and laughing so hard that he can't breathe." The line directly referenced Floyd's 2020 death under Minneapolis police custody — a name that's become synonymous with racial injustice in America.
But Hinchcliffe wasn't alone in courting controversy. Shane Gillis quipped about Hart's height, saying, "Kevin's so short they're going to have to lynch him from a bonsai tree" — invoking one of the most painful symbols of violence against Black Americans. Underwood didn't hold back when reflecting on those specific moments.
"I think people should be upset, like the George Floyd jokes, the bonsai tree jokes, things like that," she told ET. Her message to both comedians was blunt: "I want to get to know what is in your brain that makes you think this is OK?" She also revealed she'd personally confronted Hinchcliffe about the Floyd joke, telling him, "You gotta deal with the Floyd family — and they got hands." Ouch.
That's Underwood essentially saying the comedian should expect consequences for punching down on a real family's grief. Perhaps most personal were the jokes targeting Underwood's late husband, who died by suicide in 1990 after just three years of marriage. The former "The Talk" host has never publicly revealed his name, keeping that part of her life private despite her public career.
Here's where it gets complicated: Both Hinchcliffe and Gillis called Underwood before the roast to warn her they'd be making jokes about her husband. She confirmed to ET, "I got a chance to talk to Tony Hinchcliffe and he told me where he was going, and then Shane Gillis called me and we talked about it." Despite that heads up, Underwood said she still didn't know exactly what they were going to say — and while she was shown laughing in the audience during the actual performance, she's now clarifying her stance.
"I don't find those jokes funny," she stated flatly. "Lynching Black people is not a joke. It's worse than rape." She also acknowledged that roast culture has shifted: "Would you say that this generation of roasting and comics, they do stuff that most people would think are in poor taste but it still makes you laugh?" The backlash hasn't been limited to Underwood's criticism.
Chelsea Handler — a close friend of Hart's who participated in the roast — went scorched earth on Wednesday's episode of "Deon Cole's Funny Knowing You" podcast, calling Hinchcliffe and Gillis outright "racists, bigots, and sexist." That's a significant escalation from someone who was actually on stage that night. Meanwhile, "Saturday Night Live" star Michael Che reportedly pulled out of the roast entirely before it happened, and he's now using his Instagram Stories to publicly drag the event's execution.
His caption read sarcastically: "'lets do a roast celebrating the career of the most successful black comic in the last 10 years.' 'i love that! who should we get to write it?'" On another slide, he posted an image highlighting five white men from Gillis's writing crew alongside commentary about differences in roasting styles between Black and white comedians. Gillis has responded through his representative with classic dismissive energy: "This is a big moment for Chelsea.
I am glad she's capitalizing. Good for her." The statement continued with sarcasm, "We're all rooting for her," before pivoting to promote an upcoming July 17th show at a Philadelphia football stadium. Classic deflection — when attacked, attack back and pivot to the merch. Underwood, however, had the final word that matters: "There was so much disgustingness, I knew it was gonna be a gross vibe." The roast may have aired on Netflix, but the conversation about where comedy ends and cruelty begins is far from over.
