Michael Che is making his presence felt at the “Roast of Kevin Hart” despite not actually being on the stage. The Saturday Night Live star, who was originally slated to perform at the live Netflix event, has instead turned his attention toward the production’s racial dynamics and the nature of the humor employed during the special.
While the comedian was expected to be a centerpiece of the lineup, sources indicate that Michael Che dropped out of Kevin Hart roast due to scheduling conflicts with his commitments at SNL. He was not the only performer to miss the mark; the production reportedly saw several last-minute additions and subtractions as the lineup shifted leading up to the Sunday broadcast.
Rather than remaining silent about his absence, Che took to Instagram to critique the cultural divide in comedic approach, specifically contrasting how Black and white comedians handle the art of the roast. His comments suggest a fundamental disconnect between the “personal” nature of Black comedy and the “taboo-driven” nature of white comedy.
A Cultural Divide in Comedy
In a series of social media posts, Che argued that the approach to roasting differs wildly across racial lines. He suggested that Black comedians tend to focus on personal shortcomings or aesthetic choices, while white comedians lean into systemic traumas and social taboos for shock value.
“White guys and Black people joke different. Black guy roast like, ‘look at this n—- shoes!’ White roasts are like, ‘Slavery, math, slain teens, sex crimes, slurs, family secrets.’ White guys don’t give a fuck about they shoes,” Che wrote.
The critique appears to be a direct response to the “edgy” material delivered by the night’s performers. Host Shane Gillis, for example, utilized jokes regarding Hart’s height that referenced lynching and slavery—a particular quip Gillis later admitted took “three weeks of deliberation” to refine. Similarly, Tony Hinchcliffe faced online backlash for a joke referencing George Floyd.
The event’s ethos of “nothing is off limits” was echoed by Jeff Ross, who noted the aggressive nature of the set. Other comedians, including Pete Davidson and Katt Williams, touched on sensitive topics ranging from Hart’s past associations with Sean “Diddy” Combs to jokes about the crack cocaine addiction of Hart’s late father, shared by performers like Dwayne Johnson and Gillis.
The Writing Room Controversy
Beyond the jokes delivered on stage, Che turned his focus to the behind-the-scenes architects of the humor. He questioned the decision to utilize a predominantly white writing team to craft jokes for a celebration of one of the most successful Black comedians in modern history.
Che posted a photo of five writers hired by Shane Gillis—Nick Mullen, J.P. McDade, Mike Lawrence, Dan St. Germain and Zac Amico—all of whom are white. He paired the image with a pointed question: “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?”
He concluded the post by asking, “C’monnnnnnnnn… that’s not funny?”
The response from the writers was mixed. J.P. McDade acknowledged the call-out by resharing the photo of the writing group on his own social media, though he omitted Che’s critical text, captioning the post with a simple, “Don’t swipe.”
Breakdown of the Writing Staff
| Writer Group | Composition | Role/Affiliation |
|---|---|---|
| Gillis Team | 5 White Writers | Hired specifically by Shane Gillis |
| General Staff | 17 Total Writers | Official Netflix credited writers (Mixed race) |
| Individual Teams | Various | Private teams for Hinchcliffe, Chelsea Handler, etc. |
the writers highlighted by Che were not the sole authors of the evening’s material. The full telecast credited 17 writers, including several Black writers. Many of the headlining comedians, such as Chelsea Handler and Tony Hinchcliffe, employed their own independent writing teams to sharpen their sets.
The Stakes of ‘Edgy’ Humor
The friction highlighted by Che underscores a long-standing debate within the comedy industry regarding the boundary between “provocative” and “punching down.” While the roast format is designed to be cruel, Che’s critique suggests that when white writers draft jokes about Black trauma—such as slavery or racial violence—it moves from the realm of a roast into a different cultural category.
This tension is particularly acute given the current climate of stand-up comedy, where a new wave of “anti-cancel culture” comics has gained massive popularity by leaning into the exact type of material Che criticized. The “Roast of Kevin Hart” served as a high-profile intersection of these two comedic philosophies: the traditional celebrity roast and the modern, boundary-pushing style of the podcast-era comic.
Representatives for Netflix have declined to comment on the matter, and managers for Michael Che did not immediately respond to requests for further clarification on his posts.
As Netflix prepares for the wider release and promotional cycle of the special, the discourse surrounding the production’s writing room may persist. The industry will be watching to see if this sparks a broader conversation about diversity in the writing rooms of celebrity specials, or if it will be dismissed as merely another part of the roast’s chaotic energy.
Share your thoughts on the balance between edgy comedy and cultural sensitivity in the comments below.
