Pete Davidson causes controversy after Charlie Kirk joke at Netflix’s Kevin Hart Roast
Pete Davidson is no stranger to controversy, but he's seriously ruffled some feathers over a joke he made about Charlie Kirk during Netflix's Kevin Hart Roast special.
Called The Roast Of Kevin Hart, several jokes reportedly didn't make the cut, including one about Lizzo's weight loss and about the MeToo movement.
One that did make it to air came from former SNL star Davidson, who made a joke about the murder of right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk, who was famously shot dead while talking to students at a university.
The Turning Point USA leader appeared to be shot in the neck, in a shocking moment that was caught on camera and seen around the world.
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Davidson referenced Kirk during a roast he was making about fellow comic, Tony Hinchcliffe, and he didn't hold back.
He said: "Tony reminds me of Charlie Kirk, in that he’s definitely been on camera letting a guy unload in his throat."
The reaction from the audience was unimpressed, with people suggesting it was much too soon for such remarks.
He responded to the uproar with "Oh, you don’t know me? Yeah. Yeah. Kill Tony! Please. Someone...kill Tony!” in reference to a podcast called Kill Tony that the comic stars in.
Davidson then hit out at Kanye West: “Tony, nothing you say tonight will hurt my feelings. I was in a beef with Kanye, so I’ve taken shots from better gay Nazis."
He then referenced another controversial moment in time when he addressed Hart: “What can you say about Kevin that hasn’t already been yelled out by a guy with Tourette’s at the BAFTAs?”
One social media commenter hit out: "Never really cared for the guy very much. And here he's not funny at all."
Another added: "It's crazy that we live in a timeline where it's acceptable to speak like this on an innocent man and people will be like 'aww don't be so sensitive, he is making a joke'. Actually no, he is joking but he is also serious at the same time. These people are glad that you're gone because they don't see you as human."
"Joking about a murder, regardless of what you believed of the murdered person, is about as tasteless as it gets. It tell you more about the person telling the joke than anything else," insisted another.
Others defended him: "People mad over this as if all Kill Tony isn't making fun of people and getting made fun of by others. also Pete Davidson has never not made edgy jokes. He consistently makes jokes about his dad who died on 9/11."
"I don't really think people should be offended because all of the jokes are like that on the show I just don't think it's really funny," added another.
One commenter praised Lizzo for how she handled the jokes thrown at her on the night, including Davidson saying "What's left of Lizzo is here."
The camera panned to the popstar laughing and taking it in good stride, while another joke about her weight didn't make it to air.
Writer Madison Sinclair told Variety after the show that one of the jokes referenced the star's weight in her acting role in 2019: “Lizzo broke barriers when she danced as a stripper in Hustlers, mostly because they weren’t properly enforced."
A fan wrote: "Pete was great and I thought Lizzo was a champ . She looked great. And that’s coming from someone who hates Hollywood!"
Topics: Charlie Kirk, Pete Davidson, Kevin Hart, Netflix
Jen Thomas