Minneapolis community leaders, civil-rights attorneys, and members of George Floyd’s family packed into the Hennepin County Government Center last Wednesday to blast a joke about Floyd that aired during Netflix’s live “Roast of Kevin Hart.” The line, which played off Floyd’s final words, has ricocheted across social media and, according to activists, threatened to unravel years of painful healing in the city. Speakers called for apologies, edits to the special, and a direct public response from Kevin Hart.
During the roast, comedian Tony Hinchcliffe said, “The Black community is so proud of you… right now George Floyd is looking up at us all laughing so hard that he can’t breathe,” a bit critics say turned Floyd’s last moments into a punchline. The joke, delivered May 10 at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, quickly spread online and drew immediate backlash. As reported by the Minnesota Star Tribune, Hart’s visible laughter onstage only intensified the outrage.
Leaders In Hennepin County Turn Up The Heat
At the downtown Minneapolis press conference, activists and relatives called the bit a painful re-traumatization and urged Netflix to remove or edit the segment. Nekima Levy Armstrong said watching the clip “made me sick to my stomach,” while former state Rep. John Thompson argued that “no human being’s final moments of suffering should become entertainment for the world.” Speakers also pressed Hart to publicly condemn the joke and demanded an explanation from producers on how it cleared editorial review. As detailed by the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder, organizers framed their demands as part of a broader push to protect the dignity of victims.
Family Calls It ‘Sad For The Culture’
George Floyd’s relatives and the Gianna and George Floyd Foundation said the moment was especially painful and argued Hart should have shut it down on the spot. A foundation spokesperson told TMZ that allowing the joke was “sad for the culture,” and Floyd’s nephew said he first heard about the bit through a flood of phone calls and texts. The family criticized what they described as a pattern of using Floyd’s death as comedy material and called for a direct apology to Minneapolis residents.
Comedy World Divided Over How Far A Roast Can Go
The special has split comedians, with some defending the roast format’s anything-goes ethos and others arguing Hinchcliffe went too far. “SNL” star Michael Che publicly slammed what he called a “white guy” style of roast writing and said some of the shots at Hart reflected deeper structural biases in who gets targeted, according to The Daily Beast. Hart, for his part, posted on Instagram praising the set and insisting participants need to “understand the assignment,” a stance that critics say sidesteps the pain expressed by Floyd’s family, per the Minnesota Star Tribune.
Timing Fuels The Outrage
Activists noted that the roast dropped just days before Minneapolis marks the sixth anniversary of Floyd’s death, a timing they say amplified both the hurt and the urgency of their demands. At the Hennepin County gathering, speakers argued that calls for edits and apologies are about more than one tasteless joke. As the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder reported, they cast the issue as a civic concern over how public tragedies are treated, not just a quarrel with Hollywood.
Organizers said they plan to keep pressing for a public apology and for Netflix to spell out any accountability measures. A petition demanding action is also circulating online. As of publication, neither Hinchcliffe nor Netflix had given the requested apology or announced edits to the special, according to Hip-Hop Vibe. The controversy shows no sign of cooling as Minneapolis heads into another week of remembrance and events around Floyd’s legacy.
