Pete Davidson, the star of Saturday Night Live, targeted the late conservative figure Charlie Kirk while joking about fellow comedian Tony Hinchcliffe. “Tony reminds me of Charlie Kirk, in that he’s certainly on camera, choking a guy,” Davidson said during a live episode of Kevin Hart’s roast on Netflix.
He continued with a chilling comment, linking Hinchcliffe to the horrific murder of Kirk, who was assassinated just eight months prior. “Oh, you don’t know who I am? Yeah, kill Tony. Please, somebody, please fucking kill Tony,” Davidson remarked, referencing Hinchcliffe’s popular podcast, “Kill Tony.”
Davidson further stated, “Tony, nothing you say tonight will hurt my feelings. I was at odds with Kanye, so I took a photo from the better gay Nazi.”
Social media quickly erupted in response to Davidson’s harsh jokes about Kirk’s assassination. One user on X commented, “Pete is a worthless piece of shit,” alleging that his jokes failed to invoke genuine laughter. Another remarked, “Pete Davidson proves once again that shocking is easy, but actual comedy is difficult.”
Further criticisms included the sentiment that roasts should be shocking yet funny, with one user stating that Davidson’s performance felt “unnecessary and cheesy.” Another user pointed out the darker underbelly of Davidson’s humor, recalling his father’s death in 9/11 and suggesting that he uses comedy to cover deeper pains.
“Was this in bad taste? Of course,” someone mused on X. “You can’t hide pain forever. The high of laughter only temporarily suppresses the pain.” Others remarked on the shift in comedy, criticizing the increasing focus on mean jokes rather than well-crafted humor.
Another user summarized “left-wing comedy” as lacking substance and being overly political, while one noted the irony of comedians like Davidson potentially understanding Kirk’s experiences standing in front of an audience and expressing their thoughts. “You might tempt fate,” they observed.
