Chelsea Handler berates “racist” Tony Hinchcliffe and Shane Gillis after their polarizing comments at Kevin Hart’s recent roast. Handler made the comments during the Wednesday, May 20 episode of Deon Cole’s “Funny Knowing You” podcast.
Chelsea Handler calls out Shane Gillis and Tony Hinchcliffe
Chelsea Handler slams “racist” and “bigots” Shane Gillis and Tony Hinchcliffe on Deon Cole’s podcast. She confessed that Gillis’ ex-girlfriends reached out to her before the roast with information about the comedian. “I knew about Tony Hinchcliffe and Shane [Gillis] and their backgrounds,” Handler added.
When Cole prodded her further, Handler replied, “It’s just everything we know: that they’re racist, that they’re bigots, that they’re sexist. That they think they’re invincible.” For those unversed, Gillis and Hinchcliffe made some bold jokes at The Roast of Kevin Hart, and some gasp-worthy jokes were directed at Hart himself (via Variety).
Handler shared on the podcast that she did not find those jokes funny and referenced the comments to explain her point better. Gillis reportedly poked fun at Hart’s height and joked that he is so short “they’re gonna have to lynch him from a bonsai tree.”
A horrified and angry Handler revealed, “It was gross. I don’t find those jokes to be funny — jokes about lynching Black people. Lynching is not a joke. That’s worse than rape. You’re not joking about r*pe, are you? … You know you can’t do that, but you can say ‘lynching’?”
Furthermore, Gillis and Hinchcliffe also mocked fellow roast comic Sheryl Underwood’s late husband, who died by suicide in 1990. At the time, Gillis defended himself by saying that he had called Underwood ahead of time and cleared the topic with her.
Handler revealed on the podcast that Underwood may have been okay with a joke about her late husband, but she is not okay with it. “There was so much disgustingness. I knew it was going to be such a gross vibe that I would be able to elevate it, no problem. … Kevin didn’t deserve that. He deserved an elevated roast,” she added.
In response, Gillis told Variety: “This is a big moment for Chelsea. I am glad she’s capitalizing. Good for her. We’re all rooting for her. Anyway, come see me July 17th at the football stadium in Philly.”
Originally written by Anwaya Mane on Mandatory.
