Netflix recently premiered The Roast of Kevin Hart. The special brought together the comedian’s good friends and co-workers and delivered several brutal punchlines, which Kevin accepted gamely. But naturally, some jokes didn’t make the cut.
The Roast of Kevin Hart was edited down by Netflix
It’s not surprising that some jokes didn’t make it into the Kevin Hart special. After all, editing is common and time is limited, so naturally things end up on the cutting room floor.
An article on Variety spoke with comedy writer Madison Sinclair, who gave a glimpse of some of the jokes that didn’t make the cut. Many of these cut jokes were a bit more political or biting.
The writers cut several jokes aimed at comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, whom many people frequently targeted during the roast. One joke compared him to the first lady. “Tony is like Melania, the only thing relevant about him is that he opened for Trump once.”
Another joke about the event’s host, Shane Gillis, took a subtle swipe at military veterans. “Shane Gillis only lasted two weeks in basic training. The closest he’s come to becoming a veteran is his views on Asians.” This didn’t see the light of day.
It just goes to show that producers have to face a balancing act to allow friends of Kevin to share their jokes and push boundaries while also ensuring the show is broadly accessible.
Overall, Kevin remained the primary target, as he should be. Unused jokes about him focused on his career, cheating scandals, and businesses. “Kevin, you are so talented — but you are the worst cheater. With your build, I assumed you’d be better at sneaking around,” one joke went.
“Did you know that Kevin actually has a nonprofit for organ donation called ‘Heartless?’ That’s not true. But doesn’t that sound like some dumb shit he would do?” was another.
Not to worry, though, several good jabs made it through, including Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s several NSFW jokes about his friend and Pete Davidson’s jokes about his beef with rapper Kanye West.
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