June 04, 2026
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Speaking to Jimmy Kimmel, Kevin Hart says comedians who made racially insensitive jokes during his road on Netflix should be given the 'benefit of the doubt.'
Kevin Hart insists he doesn't hold any hard feelings after some jokes told during his roast on Netflix sparked controversy last month.
"Anything done with the effort of giving a laugh, I'm always going to give it the benefit of the doubt," he said during an appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" on Wednesday. "They're jokes at the end of the day."
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Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Pete Davidson, Lizzo and Chelsea Handler were among the dozens of comedians, actors and athletes who participated in the live taping of "The Roast of Kevin Hart" for Netflix on May 10. The roast was hosted by Shane Gillis.
Some jokes, particularly those told by Gillis and comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, struck some in the audience as racially insensitive. At one point, Gillis quipped that Hart is "so short you'd have to lynch him from a Bonsai tree." Hinchcliffe made a crack about George Floyd, the Minneapolis man whose murder by police sparked nationwide protests in 2020. Hart later went on "The Breakfast Club" podcast saying the Floyd reference "wasn't a tasteful joke to our culture."
But the North Philadelphia native told Kimmel that he knew what he signed up for and did not want to give his peers "the luxury of seeing (him) be uncomfortable."
"When you look at the history of all roasts, they've never not been brutal," he said. "They're brutal. The object within the roast is to hurt, but do it from a place of love. We're all here to have fun, but I'm going to try to say something to really rattle you. … I think today trying to stay true to this form of comedy is necessary because it's an actual talent."
After Kimmel jokingly brought up the 76ers' second-round exit from the NBA playoffs, Hart spoke about his tendency to talk trash with opposing players, admitting that it may have inadvertently led his hometown team to lose important games.
"I'll be honest with you, Jimmy. I think I've cost us a lot of games," he said. "I think my attitude and mouth have definitely written a lot of checks that my a-- couldn't cash and my team has suffered the consequences because of it."
Watch the full clip of Hart's appearance below.
