Chelsea Handler has come out swinging at 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 supposed to be celebrating.
Handler made her feelings clear during an appearance at Deon Cole’s Nice to know you podcast, where she said she was disgusted by jokes that included mob references and a rant about Sheryl Underwood’s late husband who died by suicide.
Those watching the roast could already tell she wasn’t happy, her own time at the mic made that pretty clear, but she was considerably more direct in the podcast interview.
Handler was aware that her problem wasn’t the jokes directed at her.
She described the digs about her age and sex life as lazy but largely irrelevant.
What she couldn’t stand, she said, was what she characterized as outright racism dressed up as edgy comedy.
She only agreed to participate in the roast, she explained, because of her longtime friendship with Hart dating back to her self-titled sketch comedy series in the 2000s, and she felt he deserved significantly better from his fellow artists.
Her goal, 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 true comedic craft, encouraged by the current cultural climate of anti-woke sentiment.
The roast had already caused controversy before Handler’s comments.
Seam TMZ reported, the family of George Floyd expressed outrage over a joke Hinchcliffe made about the late civil rights figure, particularly the second step where he mentioned one.
Hinchcliffe has not publicly addressed Handler’s criticism.
Gillis, however, had an answer ready.
“This is a big moment for Chelsea,” he said TMZ. “I’m glad she’s capitalizing. Good for her. We’re all looking forward to her. Anyway, come see me on July 17th at the ballpark in Philly.”
