Wanda Sykes says she stayed away from Netflix’s The Roast of Kevin Hart because she felt the jokes had been recycled into “sexist, racist, gay jokes,” even though Kevin Hart urged her to show up to help her upcoming special.
Wanda Sykes didn’t just decline an invite to Netflix’s The Roast of Kevin Hart—she said she felt the show’s writing had already decided what kind of comedy it wanted to be.
On Vulture’s “Good One Podcast,” Sykes was asked why she chose not to participate in last month’s special. Her answer was blunt: “Just lazy, lazy writing.” She then compared it to another roast she had skipped, saying she thought the same thing with the 2024 Tom Brady roast too.
Sykes’ core complaint was that the jokes weren’t new, and that the structure kept leaning on the same targets. “Seems like the roasts, they’re just recycled, you know, sexist, racist, gay jokes. Like, come on,” she said.
She also described a conversation with Kevin Hart before the roast was announced. In her telling. Hart wanted her there—both personally and professionally—because. as he put it. it would be good for her own work. Sykes recalled him saying: “Come on, Wanda… It’ll be good for your special. You’ve got a special coming out.”.
Sykes responded the way she said she always does with people she cares about. “I was like, ‘Kevin, you know I love you, man.’ He goes, ‘I know. I know it’s not your thing… You’ll just come in, do your thing, get out of there,’” she said.
When the conversation turned to whether she’d seen enough of the special to judge her choice, Sykes didn’t pretend she’d watched every minute. “I consumed enough to go, ‘Thank god,’” she said.
The Roast of Kevin Hart still brought a wide mix of comedians to the stage. Shane Gillis hosted. with sets from Chelsea Handler. Pete Davidson. Sheryl Underwood. Jeff Ross. Katt Williams. and Tony Hinchcliffe among others. Celebrity cameos included Brady. Venus and Serena Williams. and Dwayne Johnson appearing onstage. while Jennifer Lopez. Tiffany Haddish. and Eric André were spotted in the audience.
But reactions were sharply divided. Chelsea Handler said she found certain jokes “gross,” later describing the tone as “ick.” She dubbed material from Shane and Tony racist and sexist, adding, “I mean, it was ick. It was gross,” during the May 20 episode of the “Funny Knowing You” podcast.
Michael Che—who was initially supposed to make an appearance at the event—used Instagram to slam the White writers of the Netflix special. He wrote, “White guys and Black people joke differently. Black guy roast like. ‘Look at this n**** shoes!’ White roasts are like. ‘Slavery. math. slain teens. s** crimes. slurs. family secrets. ’” (as reported via Variety).
While the criticism spread, Kevin Hart himself went on “The Breakfast Club” and addressed pushback about one specific line. In the interview, he criticized Tony’s joke about George Floyd—“the Black man killed by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020”—saying it “wasn’t tasteful to our culture.”
Wanda Sykes Kevin Hart The Roast of Kevin Hart Netflix Vulture Good One Podcast Shane Gillis Chelsea Handler Michael Che George Floyd roast joke Funny Knowing You podcast