Nikki Glaser shared her candid thoughts on the fallout from Netflix’s Roast of Kevin Hart, suggesting that some of the most polarizing comedians on the special failed to land their most provocative material in a way that actually worked.
Speaking with Entertainment Tonight on Monday, May 25, at the 52nd Annual American Music Awards, Glaser, who opted not to participate in Hart’s special due to scheduling conflicts, acknowledged that the roast was a mixed bag for her as a viewer.
“I was glad to be watching it, not doing it, because it’s just like it’s nerve-wracking, and it’s like it really sends your nervous system through a lot of trauma to do one of those,” the 41-year-old said.
ZUMAPRESS.com / MEGA
But as a viewer, “I honestly had a great time,” she told the outlet. “And you know, there was some stuff that I didn’t love, and there was other stuff that I thought was great.”
Glaser, a two time host of the Golden Globe Awards, revealed that she and “the funniest people I know” have been dissecting the special nonstop since it aired on Sunday, May 10.
“I’m going to keep my opinions to myself and just keep talking about them in my group chats with my other comedian friends and about what we think about it and I’m not going to make it public,” she laughed, refusing to name names.
“I’ve talked to every comedian about it. Everyone’s talking about it, and that’s the good thing,” she added.
Fellow comedian Chelsea Handler previously called out Shane Gillis — who made a lynching quip — and Tony Hinchcliffe — who referenced the late George Floyd — for their “lazy” jokes, which she deemed “racist” during the May 20 episode of the Funny Knowing You podcast.
Glaser explained to ET that the issue wasn’t necessarily the subject matter itself but the execution.
ZUMAPRESS.com / MEGA
“I don’t believe that jokes can’t be made that are racist jokes,” she told Entertainment Tonight. “Ironically racist jokes — the problem is not that it’s racist. It’s like sometimes you’ve got to find a way, if you really want to do a joke, you’ve got to find a way to make it make sense. You can’t just like say it, and it’s out of nowhere.”
“I think that’s what people are having a problem with,” she said. “You have to make it palatable.”
Hinchcliffe, 41, has faced fierce backlash for his comments aimed at Hart, 46. According to the Daily Beast, a growing petition is now demanding that Netflix and Hart pay “reparations” over the remark. Hinchcliffe previously drew widespread condemnation for a joke about Puerto Ricans at a 2024 rally for President Donald Trump at Madison Square Garden.
Gillis, 38, was previously fired from Saturday Night Live in 2019 after using racial slurs against Asians on his podcast.
This story Nikki Glaser Discussed ‘Racist’ Jokes at Kevin Hart Roast in a Secret Group Chat With Other Comics first appeared on Star. Add Star as a Preferred Source by clicking here.