Chelsea Handler Delivers Jokes Backlash Over Gillis and Hinchcliffe
Chelsea Handler’s jokes criticism of Shane Gillis and Tony Hinchcliffe over Kevin Hart’s Netflix roast quickly turned into a second fight. On Wednesday, she called Gillis’ lynching joke “worse than rape” on Deon Cole’s Funny Knowing You podcast, and then had to answer for the backlash that followed.
Handler said the roast material left her cold. “It’s just everything we know, that they’re racist, that they’re bigots, they’re sexist,” she said, adding, “It was ick. It was gross.”
Handler and the roast line
The dispute centers on jokes Gillis and Hinchcliffe made during Kevin Hart’s Netflix roast, including references to lynching and George Floyd. Handler also said she had received messages on social media about the two comedians from their alleged former partners, which turned her criticism into a broader public clash rather than a one-off complaint.
That matters because Handler is not an outsider to insult humor. The article says she has been known for it throughout her career, so her attack on the roast material landed as a judgment from someone who has built her own act around sharp-edged comedy.
Gillis answers on Wednesday
Gillis responded the same day with a statement sent to The Hollywood Reporter. “This is a big moment for Chelsea. I am glad she’s capitalizing. Good for her. We’re all rooting for her. Anyway, come see me July 17 at the football stadium in Philly,” he said.
The line pushed the exchange beyond criticism of a roast and into a public insult trade. It also signaled that Gillis wanted the argument to end on his own terms, with a plug for the July 17 appearance in Philadelphia instead of another round of explanation.
Byrne joins the pushback
On Thursday, New York Post columnist Kirsten Fleming published an opinion piece criticizing Handler, widening the pile-on around her remarks. Comedian Steve Byrne also weighed in, calling her critique “rich coming from her.”
Byrne wrote on X that Handler shouted, “You’re doing a great little Asian job.” He added, “I personally know Shane & Tony aren’t racist.”
For Handler, the immediate cost is clear: her attack on Gillis and Hinchcliffe has become a story about her own comedy history, not just their roast jokes. That leaves her with a narrower path now — either absorb the criticism or keep defending a line that turned a roast complaint into a wider credibility test.
