Kevin Hart Roast Sparks Sheryl Underwood Husband Backlash Over 1990 Death
Sheryl Underwood husband Michael died by suicide in August 1990, and the loss was referenced in jokes during Kevin Hart’s Netflix roast special. The material drew backlash because it pushed a 1990 family tragedy back into the center of a 2026 comedy event.
Michael and Underwood
1987 was the year Underwood married Michael, a chef, before his death three years later. She has said she and Michael struggled while he battled depression, which makes the roast material land as more than standard insult comedy.
2016 is the year Underwood revisited that period in an interview, saying, “I made him a German chocolate cake that morning, and I said, ‘Drop the bills in the mailbox, and I’ll see you when you get home,'” and later adding, “It’s the most painful thing in the world because he is not coming back.” Those lines explain why jokes about his death drew a sharper reaction than a typical celebrity roast swipe.
The Roast of Kevin Hart
2 comedians made the jokes that targeted Michael’s death. Tony Hinchcliffe said, “Her husband committed suicide 3 years into the marriage. I’ve been sitting next to her for 2 hours, and I have to ask: how did he last that long?” Shane Gillis followed with, “Sheryl’s husband killed himself. Apparently, Black does crack if it’s married to Sheryl and jumps off a f**king roof.”
Shane Gillis also doubled down with, “The Golden State Warriors logo is a bridge. Don’t show that to Sheryl’s husband” and “Seriously, keep that bridge away from Sheryl’s husband.” He later said, “I called her yesterday. Shut up. I felt terrible about that. I had to call her. She was crazy about it. She was like, ‘You gonna make fun of my husband who fell off a bridge?’ I was like, ‘Yup.'”
Sheryl Underwood Response
Underwood was seen laughing from her seat during the jokes, and she later posted, “Freedom of speech is alive today. It showed we can all come together and crack jokes on each other and still respect each other.” That reaction leaves the roast in a familiar place for the format: the line between the joke and the wound is the product, and here the wound was a 1990 suicide inside a 1987 marriage that still shapes how the material is received.
Michael’s death is the fact that changes the read on the whole segment. Without it, the jokes are cheap roast material; with it, the special becomes a case study in how old grief can still set the terms for what a comic can get away with in front of an audience that knows the history.
