Chelsea Handler, a roasting comedian, condemned comedians Tony Hinchcliffe and Shane Gillis of the Kevin Hart Roast for their racist jokes. Handler believed that white comedians should not joke about lynching African Americans, as this material is on par with joking about rape.
Chelsea Handler discussed comedians making racist jokes in her interview on “Funny Knowing You”. Handler expressed outrage regarding the quality of jokes made during the roast against her.
“I don’t care if these guys say that I’m a w—-,” she said. “I’m doing exactly what they’re doing, except I’m a woman and I’m allowed to. I’m rich, I’m famous, and I’m hot, so I’m f—— people. That’s what I’m gonna do, and I’m gonna continue to keep doing that as long as I remain as f—able as I am.”
According to Handler, she saw no point in those jokes. “What were they going to say about me? They couldn’t say anything other than that I’m a w—- or my age. Those aren’t jokes, that’s not clever writing,” she said. “I knew they would be lazy. Because they do that for a living.”
Handler claimed she had researched comedians before the Kevin Hart Roast. “I knew enough about Tony Hinchcliffe and Shane and their backgrounds,” she said. Based on that, I was like, “Oh, these guys are pretty bad.
Speaking about attitudes toward comedians’ material, Handler said they believe “he’s like, doesn’t matter, I can say anything I want”. She added that one of them was fired for an anti-Asian joke before being invited to the roast.
The handler explained why comedians use racist material. “They’re gonna get in with that group of Roganites and that Austin group of Joe Rogan and all of those guys,” she said, adding that even some female comedians had adopted the approach. “Some girl comics have started to do it to be like in with that group.”
Speaking about jokes during the Kevin Hart Roast, Handler said they were unacceptable. “It was ick. It was gross,” she said. “Lynching is not a joke. That’s worse than rape. You’re not joking about rape, are you? You can say lynching? I find that to be gross.”
Speaking about one of the jokes about Cheryl Underwood, whose husband committed suicide, Handler explained why she found it distasteful.
“If she says she’s fine with that, she’s fine with that. I wasn’t fine with that. I thought that was disgusting,” Handler said. “But there was so much disgustingness that I knew it was going to be such a gross vibe that I would be able to elevate it, no problem. And that’s what I went to do. I was like, all right, well, I’ll pick it up because they’re gonna try and bring it down.”
“Kevin didn’t deserve that,” she added. “He deserved an elevated roast.”
Asked whether Handler believes it is necessary to tell Black audience members what they should find funny, Chelsea Handler declined to do so.
“I’m not here to tell Black people what’s funny about Black jokes,” she said. “I also don’t like the n—-, but I have plenty of Black friends who toss that around all the time. It’s not my place to say, “Oh, that word makes me feel uncomfortable. Black people are allowed to do whatever they want. If Kevin thinks that’s funny, he thinks that’s funny. I don’t think it’s funny.”
Gillis hosted the Kevin Hart Roast. As a roaster, Handler received jokes about her abortion, Zionism, and attending a dinner organized by Jeffrey Epstein. She responded to the attack by asking about the anti-Asian joke that led to Gillis’ dismissal from SNL.
Most people criticized Chelsea Handler for the roast. People claimed that roasts are supposed to be offensive and accused Handler of hypocrisy since she roasts others and has produced controversial material in her career. One of the commenters called Handler a great comedian, saying she showed her talent by crying over the jokes in the last two weeks. Handler was also called “sour grapes” since she accepted money for the performance, which involved many jokes about Black culture.
