Michael Che Critiques Writers of “The Roast of Kevin Hart”

Michael Che, known for his role on “Saturday Night Live,” recently took to Instagram to voice his critiques regarding some of the writers from “The Roast of Kevin Hart.” He wasn’t too pleased with the style of jokes they used. Ironically, Che was supposed to appear at the roast himself, but due to scheduling conflicts with SNL, he couldn’t make it.

In his posts, Che suggested that there’s a significant difference in how white and black comedians approach humor. He stated, “White guys and black people joke different.” He elaborated, saying black comedians might roast someone about their shoes, while white comedians resort to heavy topics like slavery and crime. His comments seemed to highlight a trend in the roast where racial humor was predominant.

The event itself, like most roasts, navigated the tricky balance between humor and insult, with several edgy comments sprinkled throughout the night. For instance, host Shane Gillis made comments about Hart’s height that invoked references to slavery, while another comedian, Tony Hinchcliffe, included a controversial joke related to George Floyd.

Interestingly, Che didn’t single out any specific individual among the comedians or writers but pointed towards the collective approach toward the roast’s content. He expressed, “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?” This remark seemed to underscore his frustration with the decision-making behind the jokes.

Following up, Che shared a slide featuring a photo of five white writers involved in the roast project—Nick Mullen, J.P. McDade, Mike Lawrence, Dan St. Germain, and Zac Amico—implying a lack of diversity in the writing team. His reaction was clear: “C’monnnnnnnnn… that’s not funny?”

Despite the majority of writers being credited, Variety mentioned that several are black. Netflix, however, has not provided any comments regarding these criticisms.