Michael Che, the renowned comedian and "Saturday Night Live" star, was set to grace the stage at the "Roast of Kevin Hart" live Netflix event on Sunday, according to two sources close to the production. However, scheduling conflicts with his "SNL" commitments forced him to withdraw from the event. (Che was not the only one to experience changes; the roast lineup underwent significant shuffling, with several last-minute additions and dropouts.)
Now, Che is airing his grievances about the event on social media. In an Instagram post, he writes, "White guys and Black people joke differently. Black guys roast by saying, 'Look at these n—- shoes!' White roasts are like, 'Slavery, math, slain teens, sex crimes, slurs, family secrets.' White guys don't give a damn about their shoes."
Che's post seems to reference some of the edgier jokes made by the roast host, Shane Gillis, and Tony Hinchcliffe. Gillis made jokes mocking Hart's height that referenced slavery and lynching - a quip he admitted required "three weeks of deliberation." Hinchcliffe also indulged in his fair share of racial humor, with one particularly shocking joke about George Floyd that drew backlash online.
Other comics, like Jeff Ross and Katt Williams, joked about Hart's past attendance at a Diddy party. Pete Davidson and Hinchcliffe both had jokes that referenced (but did not say) the N-word. And Dwayne Johnson, Gillis, Ross, and others made fun of Hart's late father's addiction to crack cocaine. ("Nothing was off limits," Ross told Variety in an interview the day after the live telecast.)
While Che did not name any of the comedians on the dais, he did troll some of the behind-the-scenes writers of the roast. In a separate post, he wrote, "Let's do a roast celebrating the career of the most successful Black comic in the last 10 years. I love that! Who should we get to write it?" He then included a photo of five joke writers hired by Gillis - Nick Mullen, J.P. McDade, Mike Lawrence, Dan St. Germain, and Zac Amico - all of whom are white. "C'monnnnnnnnn... that's not funny?" Che added.
Representatives for Netflix had no comment. Che's managers did not immediately respond to Variety's requests for comment.
Those called out by Che are not the only scribes who worked on the roast. It's worth noting that the telecast has 17 credited writers, several of whom are Black. Many of the comedians hired their own teams of joke writers, including Hinchcliffe and Chelsea Handler, who posted a photo with some of her writers and tagged them in the caption. There were other writers hired to churn out punchlines for various talent too, like comedian Madison Sinclair, who slipped some of her favorite unused roast jokes to Variety.
McDade cheekily acknowledged Che's diss by resharing his post - but only the photo, not Che's words. "Don't swipe," McDade wrote.
