Kevin Hart addresses backlash to Tony Hinchcliffe's George Floyd joke

Kevin Hart is defending the comedian behind one of the most shocking jokes at his Netflix roast.

In an interview on "The Breakfast Club," the "Jumanji" star, 46, addressed the backlash some of the participants in Netflix's "Roast of Kevin Hart" have faced for their material. In particular, comedian Tony Hinchcliffe has been criticized for a joke about how George Floyd, who was killed by former police officer Derek Chauvin in 2020, is "looking up at us all, laughing so hard that he can't breathe."

Hart said on "The Breakfast Club" that while Hinchcliffe's joke about Floyd wasn't "tasteful," he "wasn't shocked," adding that Hinchcliffe "arguably had the best set, or one of the best sets," of the roast.

"Tony told a joke," he said. "It wasn't a tasteful joke to us. We didn't like it. OK. ... We move on. I don't understand why we stand on a hill, and it becomes this big thing ... It doesn't have to be that. It literally is, either you're a fan of this level of content or you're not. And if you're not a fan, then you don't watch it."

Pointing to other shocking jokes that were made at the roast, including one from Pete Davidson about the killing of Charlie Kirk, Hart also said, "Would I tell those jokes? No. But do I get why they're being told? Yes. I'm not looking at Pete crazy. I'm not looking at Tony crazy. I know what you're going to do. I know your style of comedy."

Terrence Floyd, George Floyd's brother, previously told "The Breakfast Club" host Loren LoRosa that Hart should have brought "Will Smith energy" to the roast by pushing back on Hinchcliffe's joke "right then and there."

But in his "Breakfast Club" interview, Hart defended himself by saying there was "nothing" he could have done in the moment. He also emphasized that he isn't the one who made the joke, arguing he shouldn't be blamed for it.

"It's a live production," Hart said. "I'm not compromising the live production for a reaction of what? What do you want me to do? I'm going to drag him off? You want me to fight afterwards? That's not what I agreed to do."

Netflix's "Roast of Kevin Hart" was hosted by Shane Gillis, who also drew criticism for some of his material, including jokes about lynching and about the death of comedian Sheryl Underwood's husband. Underwood was in the roast's lineup.

Chelsea Handler, another one of the participants in the roast, criticized the "gross" and "disgusting" jokes made at the event while appearing on the "Funny Knowing You" podcast. She criticized Gillis and Hinchcliffe, in particular.

"People are like, 'It's a roast. You go for it,'" she said. "I'm like, 'You can go for it without being gross.'"

Nikki Glaser, who has delivered a number of shocking jokes at comedy roasts over the years but did not participate in the Hart event, has also weighed in. Speaking with Entertainment Tonight at the American Music Awards, Glaser said she "loved watching" the roast but noted there was "some stuff that I didn't love," without naming names.

"I don't believe that jokes can't be made that are racist jokes, ironically racist jokes," she told ET. "The problem is not that it's racist. It's that ... if you really want to do a joke, you've got to find a way to make it make sense."