Former NBA star Stephen Jackson is speaking from the heart after comedian Tony Hinchcliffe sparked outrage with a controversial joke about George Floyd during Kevin Hart’s Netflix roast. The moment instantly lit social media on fire, with many viewers saying the joke crossed a line. Others defended it as comedy. Meanwhile, Floyd’s loved ones and supporters made it clear they were not laughing.
Stephen Jackson Speaks Out About Tony Hinchcliffe’s George Floyd Joke Following Netflix Roast
The backlash started after Sunday’s live Netflix roast where Tony Hinchcliffe took aim at Kevin Hart with a joke tied to George Floyd’s death. During the roast, Hinchcliffe told 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.”
The joke immediately triggered strong reactions online. Some viewers claimed comedians should be allowed to joke about anything. However, many others argued that Floyd’s death was too painful and too recent to be used as punchline material. The moment especially hit differently for people who still remember the global protests, emotional conversations, and calls for justice that followed Floyd’s murder in 2020.
One person who was not staying silent was Stephen Jackson. Jackson had a close relationship with George Floyd before Floyd’s death and has consistently spoken publicly about preserving his legacy. After clips from the roast began circulating online, Jackson posted a video on Instagram addressing the controversy directly.
While reacting to the situation, Jackson stated: “one thing about it you can’t tell people what to be offended by and what not to be offended by. Everybody’s laughing until it’s the family member that gets murdered, then it ain’t funny when it’s your family member. It’s cool when it’s everybody else family member but when it comes to your door step you want everybody to feel a certain way.”
His comments quickly spread across social media platforms. Supporters praised Jackson for standing up for Floyd and reminding people about the real-life pain connected to these types of jokes. Others debated whether comedy should have limits at all. Social media doing what it always does: turning grief, morality, and trauma into a comment section cage match sponsored by engagement algorithms.
Tony Hinchcliffe’s George Floyd Joke Sparks Anger From Family And Friends
According to reports from TMZ, George Floyd’s family and friends were disgusted and furious over the joke made during the roast. Sources connected to Floyd’s loved ones reportedly believe Kevin Hart should have stepped in before the joke made it to the live audience.
The frustration appears to stem from the fact that this is not the first time Tony Hinchcliffe has used George Floyd in his comedy material. During Netflix’s Tom Brady roast, Hinchcliffe previously joked that former NFL star Rob Gronkowski “looked like the final boss inGeorge Floyd the video game.” That earlier joke also sparked criticism online, but the latest roast reopened those wounds in an even bigger way.
Many supporters of Floyd’s family believe repeated jokes about his death continue to dehumanize a situation that already caused massive emotional pain across communities around the world. Floyd’s murder was captured on video and became one of the defining moments in modern conversations surrounding police brutality and racial injustice.
For Floyd’s loved ones, the issue is bigger than comedy. They believe people are forgetting there was an actual family left behind after his death. There are still people grieving him. There are still children growing up without him. And there are still communities carrying emotional scars from that moment.
The criticism toward Kevin Hart also grew online after viewers questioned whether he should have stopped the joke in real time. Others argued that roast environments are designed for offensive humor and that comics should not be censored once they take the stage. Still, many fans pointed out that there is a difference between edgy comedy and reopening trauma tied to someone’s death.