NEWSSheryl Underwood Criticizes Jokes Made by Tony Hinchcliffe and Shane Gillis at Kevin Hart's Roast
Sheryl Underwood criticized controversial jokes made during 'The Roast of Kevin Hart.'
May 24 2026, Published 10:00 a.m. ET
Sheryl Underwood openly criticized comedians Tony Hinchcliffe and Shane Gillis for their inappropriate jokes during Netflix’s The Roast of Kevin Hart.
Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, Underwood stated that public outrage over their jokes, which referenced the late George Floyd and lynching, is completely justified.
Sheryl Underwood spoke out against controversial jokes made by comedians Tony Hinchcliffe and Shane Gillis during 'The Roast of Kevin Hart.'
Hinchcliffe shocked viewers with his line: “Right now George Floyd is looking at us all and laughing so hard that he can’t breathe.”
Underwood remarked that the audience should be upset by such tasteless humor.
“I think people should be upset, like the George Floyd jokes, the bonsai tree jokes, things like that,” she reflected.
Underwood expressed her desire to understand the mindset of comedians who deliver such offensive content.
“I want to get to know what is in your brain that makes you think this is OK?” she questioned.
Sheryl Underwood said viewers had every right to be upset over jokes referencing George Floyd and lynching.
Gillis also faced backlash for his joke about Kevin Hart’s height, saying, “Kevin’s so short they’re going to have to lynch him from a bonsai tree.”
Underwood noted that while she laughed during the roast, she later deemed the jokes “in poor taste.”
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Underwood has a personal connection to the subject matter, as her late husband committed suicide in 1990. Both Hinchcliffe and Gillis made jokes about him during the roast. Underwood shared that although they called her beforehand to inform her of their intentions, she did not know the specifics of their material.
Although she laughed during parts of the event, she later described several comments as being in poor taste.
“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,” Underwood explained.
She conveyed that they approached her with respect but left her unaware of the actual jokes.
Chelsea Handler, who participated in the roast, criticized Hinchcliffe and Gillis on a recent podcast, labeling them “racists, bigots, and sexist.”
Underwood echoed Handler’s sentiment, stating, “Lynching Black people is not a joke. It’s worse than rape.”
Gillis responded to Handler’s criticism with sarcasm, stating, “This is a big moment for Chelsea. I am glad she’s capitalizing. Good for her.”
His remarks did little to quell the controversy surrounding the roast.
She also revealed that both comedians contacted her before the roast because some jokes referenced her late husband.
Michael Che, a prominent figure from Saturday Night Live, also criticized the event, highlighting the lack of diversity among the writers involved. He emphasized that humor often varies significantly across cultural lines.
