Get Out star Lil Rel Howery has weighed in on the ongoing controversy surrounding Tony Hinchcliffe’s George Floyd joke at The Roast of Kevin Hart, calling it “disgusting” and questioning why the audience didn’t “boo” him. The Netflix special aired on Sunday, May 10th, and saw a host of celebrities taking to the stage to throw comedic insults at each other. It’s always a no holds barred event, but this year’s edition has sparked controversy. During his own session, Hinchcliffe turned attention to Kevin Hart and said, “You’ve done good Kevin. The Black community is so proud of you. Right now George Floyd is looking up at us all laughing so hard he can’t breathe.” Tony Hinchcliffe made a WILD George Floyd joke while roasting Kevin Hart 💀 “The Black community is so proud of you… right now George Floyd is looking up at us all laughing so hard he can’t breathe.” pic.twitter.com/33T2anzhja — Killa 🌺 (@KillaKreww) May 11, 2026 Floyd was a Black man murdered by white former police officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis in 2020, with his dying words, “I can’t breathe,” later becoming a rallying cry during global protests against police brutality and racism. Hinchcliffe’s punchline directly referenced those final moments and alluded to the idea of Floyd being in hell, which is why many viewers felt the joke crossed a line. Floyd’s own family and friends even slammed his words, with a spokesperson for The Gianna and George Floyd Foundation telling TMZ that it’s “sad for the culture.” Now, Lil Rel Howery – who is also a stand-up comedian – has addressed the backlash and shared his thoughts on the situation. Lil Rel Howery says Tony Hinchcliffe’s joke ‘didn’t make f**king sense to me’ In a series of videos shared on his Instagram account, Howery said the joke made “no sense” to him and described it as “disgusting,” arguing there was “no reason” to bring Floyd into the roast at all. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Lil Rel Howery (@comedianlilrel) He also criticised the audience for not booing Hinchcliffe when they did for Draymond Green, saying he personally would have “walked out.” Howery first shouted out a series of celebs who were at The Roast of Kevin Hart, including Kevin himself, as well as Sheryl Underwood, Chelsea Handler, and Katt Williams, saying there were “some funny people on it.” He went on to say that he was invited to be involved in the 2026 Netflix Is A Joke Festival, but that he couldn’t as he’s shooting a movie in New York right now, and expressed gratitude that he’s a working actor and comedian. Addressing the Hinchcliffe situation, Howery explained, “I’m just keeping it 100, y’all… I don’t understand. Like, it’s one thing to roast the people that’s there. It’s one thing to roast the people that may be in the audience there. “Roasting somebody that number one is dead, number two that’s not there… Tony Hinchcliffe’s joke about George Floyd didn’t make f**king sense to me. There was no reason to bring George Floyd into this. It just was disgusting.” Credit: Unsplash/Munshots Howery also said he does “feel a certain way” about the fact that the audience “was okay booing Draymond Green every time his name was mentioned” but that they didn’t “boo Tony Hinchcliffe right after that.” “I get it, man, and I’m okay with not being a part of a lot of this cliquey bulls**t that’s in comedy or in our business that some of y’all may think I’m a part of, but I’m not,” he continued. “I a hundred percent would’ve booed that motherf**ker and probably walked out.” In the final video, the actor acknowledged that at times “we are too sensitive about certain things,” but questioned “why we just can’t agree that bringing up George Floyd and the way he did it was just f**ked up, and not funny, and not needed.” Film Shrine has reached out to Hinchcliffe’s representatives for comment. For all the latest film and TV updates and hot takes, like our Facebook page. Featured image credit: Netflix/Universal Pictures Post navigation Next story
