Pete Davidson Sparks Backlash After “Kill Tony” Joke Comparing Tony Hinchcliffe to Charlie Kirk

Comedian Pete Davidson sparked backlash during Netflix’s “The Roast of Kevin Hart” at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles on Sunday, May 10, when he compared Tony Hinchcliffe to slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk and joked that “Tony reminds me of Charlie Kirk, in that he definitely has been on camera letting a guy unload in his throat.”

“Hosts on the Charlie Kirk Show podcast have reacted to a joke comedian Pete Davidson made about the assassination of the conservative firebrand during Netflix’s roast of Kevin Hart on Sunday, May 10th”

Consequence

Davidson then added “Kill Tony. Please someone f**ing kill Tony,” as he continued taking shots at Hinchcliffe during the roast.

Consequence

The controversy centered on Kirk’s 2025 death, when he was shot and killed during an outdoor speaking engagement at Utah Valley University, and Fox News reported Kirk was “the 31-year-old co-founder of Turning Point USA.”

Entertainment Weekly said Kirk’s friends and team members Andrew Kolvet, Blake Neff, and Daisy Phelps reacted on the “Charlie Kirk Show” podcast by calling Davidson’s material “distasteful,” while also noting the debate was about whether the joke was appropriate “for this particular moment.”

On the “Charlie Kirk Show” podcast, Andrew Kolvet said the joke was “about somebody who was murdered in really the most grotesque, public way imaginable,” and he stressed he did not want to “tell comedians that you can’t” make jokes.

Kolvet added, “For this particular moment,” “it just felt distasteful,” while Daisy Phelps defended Davidson’s right to tell the joke but said he needed to be held to a “higher standard” on stage.

Fox News

Phelps tied the discussion to Davidson’s father, recalling that Davidson’s father died while working as a firefighter during 9/11 and saying jokes made at Davidson’s expense about that were “equally ‘disgusting.’”

Blake Neff framed the backlash as a downside of Kirk’s status, saying, “He’s going to be a subject of humor because anything great is subject to humor,” and he argued that Kirk’s death had become “the biggest news story in the country for arguably the entire year.”

Fox News reported that Davidson faced backlash after his explicit remarks during Netflix’s roast at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, and it included reactions from X users who said, “Anything goes in comedy, but this ain’t it.”

“Comedian Pete Davidson faced backlash after an explicit rant on Sunday during Netflix’s "The Roast of Kevin Hart" at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles”

Fox News

One X user, as quoted by Fox News, argued that “Charlie was murdered just 8 months ago and we wonder why people have become so desensitized to political violence,” while another said Davidson “has a right to say it and I have a right to criticize him and never listen to him ever again.”

The Hollywood Reporter described the same set of jokes, including Davidson’s line that “Tony reminds me of Charlie Kirk, in that he’s definitely been on camera letting a guy unload in his throat,” and it noted ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel saw his show briefly suspended from the network in the fall after comments he made about Kirk’s murder.

The Times of India said the row followed Davidson’s “dark humour” landing “awkwardly” during the roast and quoted the moment when Davidson told the audience, “Please someone f—ing kill Tony,” as the reference to Kirk’s death drove discomfort.