Michael Che has criticised Netflix's The Roast of Kevin Hart special, questioning why a show celebrating 'the most successful Black comic in the last 10 years' relied heavily on White joke writers.
The Saturday Night Live star took to Instagram on Tuesday to share a series of posts about the event, which aired live on Sunday from the Kia Forum in Los Angeles as part of the 2026 Netflix Is a Joke Fest. Hosted by Shane Gillis, the roast featured a celebrity line-up including Pete Davidson, Chelsea Handler, Regina Hall, Tony Hinchcliffe, Sheryl Underwood, and Draymond Green.
Che highlighted the difference in comedic styles between White and Black writers, writing: '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 f*** about they shoes.' His comments appeared to reference controversial material from the roast, including Gillis's joke about Hart's height comparing him to 'a slave' and referencing lynching, and Hinchcliffe's routine about George Floyd that included the line 'laughing so hard he can’t breathe'.
In another post, Che shared an image of the five writers hired by Gillis for the special – Nick Mullen, JP McDade, Mike Lawrence, Dan St Germain, and Zac Amico – all of whom are White. One of the writers, McDade, reposted the image with the caption 'Don’t swipe'. According to Variety, Che had originally been scheduled to appear but withdrew due to scheduling conflicts with SNL. The roast listed 17 credited writers on IMDb, several of whom were Black, including Harry Ratchford, Chris Spencer, and Joey Wells. Handler also posted a photo of her writing team, which included Black writers Yamaneika Saunders and Yassir Lester.
The Independent has reached out to representatives for Che and Netflix for comment.
