Minneapolis Activists Call George Floyd Joke on Netflix “Cruel and Reckless”

Minneapolis community leaders and racial justice advocates are condemning remarks made during The Roast of Kevin Hart on Netflix. As his closing joke, comedian Tony Hinchcliffe mocked George Floyd’s death and final moments saying to Hart, “The Black community is so proud of you. Right now George Floyd is looking up at us all laughing so hard he can’t breathe.” 

Kevin Hart is then shown laughing so hard he had to wipe a tear from his eye. Angela Harrelson, George Floyd’s Aunt, and Paris Stevens, George Floyd’s First Cousin, said while they understand that roasts are meant to push boundaries, the comment made by Hinchcliffe was deeply disappointing.

“When Perry said ‘I can’t breathe,’ and cried out for his mother during the final moments of his murder, it was not a joke. It was fear, pain, darkness, and heartbreak, and those words impacted millions of people across the world,” the family said.

“This is bigger than one joke,” said Trahern Crews, co-founder of Black Lives Matter Minnesota. “This is about whether America continues to normalize the humiliation and commodification of Black suffering.”

Trahern added that Minneapolis has already paid too high a price. It’s been nearly six years since Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police, and the city is still grappling with trauma, grief, and the lasting effects of the unrest that followed.

Monique Cullars-Doty, co-founder of Black Lives Matter Minnesota and the National Target Boycott said what happened on the Netflix stage was cruel, reckless, and deeply disrespectful. 

“George Floyd begged for his life while the world watched in horror,” she said. “Turning those final moments into a joke dehumanizes not only him, but every community impacted by police violence and racial injustice.”

Adding to the disrespect, Kevin Hart attended George Floyd’s memorial service in June 2020. He said he attended to stand in solidarity with Floyd’s family. He called on public figures to push for meaningful change.

“It's more about just standing with the family in a moment like this—letting them know that they're not alone,” Hart said in an interview outside the service. “We now have a job to do, which is to elevate our voices, use our platforms, and really push the initiative for change.” 

Watch: Kevin Hart was interviewed outside of the George Floyd memorial in June 2020

The Netflix special bearing Hart’s name, instead, minimized that very work and suffering of the family. The family said Kevin's reaction to the joke was disappointing.

“As a Black man who showed up to support my family, our loved ones, our community, and who united with people around the world during such a delicate and emotional time, I guess a part of me hoped he would have paused the moment and said, ‘Let’s slow it down. We can laugh about something else, but not this,’”they said.

Calling for Corporate Responsibility and Accountability

Civil rights attorney and National Target Boycott co-founder Nekima Levy Armstrong criticized Netflix and corporate media platforms for distributing the content. She, Monique and Trahern are now demanding accountability in the following ways:

• A direct public apology from Tony Hinchcliffe to the family of George Floyd and the people of Minneapolis;

• A public statement and accountability measures from Netflix;

• A public response from Kevin Hart condemning the remarks aired under his platform;

• The removal or editing of the segment from future broadcasts and streaming distribution.

“We are tired of corporations hiding behind ‘comedy’ when Black pain becomes profitable,” Nekima said. “Minneapolis lived through the grief, protests, and trauma that followed George Floyd’s murder. We will not allow our community’s pain to be repackaged as entertainment.”

Jeanelle Austin, lead caretaker at George Floyd Square and executive director of Rise and Remember said Hinchcliffe needs to understand that to joke about a man unjustly killed by state-sanctioned violence is to make light of a system that has been lynching Black people for generations as a form of racial genocide.

“Mr. Floyd did not die by any fault of his own. He was murdered. He was lynched,” said Jeanelle. “The joke reinforces white supremacy at a time when Black lives are under severe threat in our nation. It is offensive to the family of George Floyd, to the communities of people who put their lives on the line to stand against injustice, and to the families who also lost their loved ones through state-sanctioned violence.”

Jeanelle called for a restorative justice approach, suggesting Hinchcliffe could help repair the harm by working with Floyd’s family and contributing to the permanent memorial being developed at George Floyd Square.

“We would genuinely invite Kevin Hart and Tony Hinchcliffe to sit down and have a real conversation that people can learn from. We need more humanity, more understanding, and more respect for one another,” said the family. “There were so many other jokes that could have been told without using the final moments of a man whose murder impacted millions around the world.”

Full Statement from George Floyd's Family

We want to speak from the heart for a moment.

We understand that roasts are meant to push boundaries and that comedians often use shock humor, but the comment made by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe about George Floyd was deeply disappointing and, in our opinion, in very poor taste.

When Perry said “I can’t breathe” and cried out for his mother during the final moments of his murder, it was not a joke. It was fear, pain, darkness, and heartbreak, and those words impacted millions of people across the world.

George Floyd was more than a hashtag. He was a father, a brother, an uncle, a nephew, a cousin, and a human being whose daughter still has to live without him. There are many families across this country carrying delayed grief and emotional wounds tied to violence, loss, and injustice. Jokes like that may get a reaction in the moment, but they also reopen pain for people who are simply trying to survive and heal.

We also want to be clear that Tony Hinchcliffe was the person who made the joke. However, what made this especially difficult for me, Angela Harrelson, is that in 2020 I personally witnessed Kevin Hart show kindness, empathy, and compassion when he came to George Floyd’s funeral at North Central University in Minneapolis. That is the Kevin Hart that I remember, which is why this situation felt so disappointing to me.

As a Black man who showed up to support my family, our loved ones, our community, and who united with people around the world during such a delicate and emotional time, I guess a part of me hoped he would have paused the moment and said, “Let’s slow it down. We can laugh about something else, but not this.”

I think people would have respected that. That could have been a moment where he truly shined with compassion and leadership.

At the same time, we still believe there is room for grace, growth, and redemption. An apology would be accepted, but the value of it is lost if it does not come authentically and instead comes from pressure. We would much rather see honest conversations happen than more division added to a country that is already hurting.

Over the last six years, we have worked hard to learn how to navigate our pain, and we are still on that journey. But one thing we have learned is that it has never been about hate for us. It has always been about asking ourselves how we can become better human beings through all of this. If we were still the same people we were six years ago, this conversation would not even be possible. But we have grown, we have learned, and we have learned how to love and smile again.

Yes, we do laugh, but the joy we have now comes from respecting people, showing humanity, and trying to make life a little better for others, just as so many people have helped make ours better through compassion and support.

So instead of anger, we would genuinely invite Kevin Hart and Tony Hinchcliffe to sit down and have a real conversation that people can learn from. We need more humanity, more understanding, and more respect for one another. There were so many other jokes that could have been told without using the final moments of a man whose murder impacted millions around the world.

We did not ask for this tragedy. We are simply doing our best to carry it with dignity while continuing to heal.  

That is all we want people to understand.

Angela Harrelson, George Floyd’s Aunt, angela@riseandremember.org 

Paris Stevens, George Floyd’s First Cousin,  paris@riseandremember.org 

Co-Chairs, Rise & Remember, Minneapolis