Wanda Sykes said the real test for a controversial joke is not whether it goes too far, but whether it is actually funny. Appearing on The View on Friday, May 29, the comedian addressed the backlash over Netflix’s The Roast of Kevin Hart, saying the biggest issue with one widely criticized joke was that it failed as comedy. “It’s not, ‘Am I going too far?’ The main thing is, ‘Is it funny?’ That is the only question you should be asking,” Sykes said. She added that the George Floyd joke “was not funny” and “wasn’t even a joke.”
Joy Behar agreed that jokes should not target people who are not present, saying on the show that if the person being roasted is not in the room, the joke should not be made. Sykes supported the point, asking why “dead people” were being brought into the material. Her comments came amid continued criticism of comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, whose joke during the live-streamed roast on May 10 drew accusations of racism from viewers and fellow comedians.
During his set, Hinchcliffe made a reference to George Floyd while speaking to Kevin Hart, a line many social media users and entertainment figures condemned as offensive. Floyd was killed in Minneapolis in 2020 during an arrest, when police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for nine minutes and 29 seconds. Chauvin was later convicted of murder. The incident remains one of the most widely discussed events in recent American history, and any joke referencing Floyd has drawn strong public reaction.
Other comedians also weighed in on the controversy. Chelsea Handler criticized Hinchcliffe and fellow roaster Shane Gillis, calling them racist, sexist and bigots after the event. Hinchcliffe later defended himself on his Kill Tony podcast, rejecting the accusations and mocking critics in harsh language. Nikki Glaser also commented on the broader issue, saying racist jokes can be made in comedy but need context and structure to work. She argued that a joke should make sense and not simply rely on shock value or an out-of-place racial reference.
Kevin Hart, meanwhile, defended the roasters weeks after the event while appearing on The Breakfast Club podcast. He acknowledged that the George Floyd joke was not tasteful for many viewers, but said audiences watching a roast understand that racial humor is part of the format. Hart said he was not shocked by the controversy and suggested Hinchcliffe may have delivered one of the strongest sets of the night. He added that he would not personally tell those jokes, but understood why they were told in that setting. The debate has highlighted the tension between edgy roast comedy and audience expectations about boundaries, taste and accountability.
