Comedians

The fallout continues over a controversial George Floyd joke made by Tony Hinchcliffe at "The Roast of Kevin Hart" ... with fellow stand-up comic and actor Lil Rel calling the moment gross ... and shaming the crowd for not booing.

Lil Rel posted his thoughts to Instagram on Tuesday morning ... saying he found the moment so "disgusting," he wondered what he would have done had he been there ... but he's pretty sure he already knew.

If you didn't watch Sunday's live roast on Netflix ... Hinchcliffe proclaimed 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."

George Floyd's family and friends are appalled Tony Hinchcliffe was invited back for a Netflix roast and they're blaming Kevin Hart for allegedly giving Tony the green light to do another joke about George ... a joke they didn't find funny in the slightest.

Travis Cains, a spokesman for The Gianna and George Floyd Foundation, tells TMZ … Kevin condoning Tony's joke is "sad for the culture."

Tony was among the comedians roasting Kevin, and during his set he proclaimed ... "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."

Pete Davidson is catching heat over a controversial joke aimed at slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk during "The Roast of Kevin Hart" ... and now one of Charlie's close friends says the whole thing left him seriously disgusted.

Andrew Kolvet -- a Turning Point USA producer -- said Monday he thought the joke was wildly distasteful considering Charlie was murdered in such a brutal and public way ... adding he physically cringed hearing it land during the Netflix special -- much like the audience's reaction inside the room.

During the roast, Pete was talking about fellow comic Tony Hinchcliffe when he dropped the line, "Tony reminds me of Charlie Kirk, in that he’s definitely been on camera letting a guy unload in his throat," ... before adding, "Please somebody f***ing kill Tony" ... a reference to Hinchcliffe's own podcast, "Kill Tony."

Comedy veteran Sheryl Underwood says the surprise "r-word" joke from Dwayne Johnson during Netflix’s "The Roast of Kevin Hart" worked because roast comedy plays by a different set of rules ... and she says audiences understood the context.

Underwood stopped by "TMZ Live" on Monday and told us she thought The Rock’s appearance ultimately brought the room together ... especially after years of discourse surrounding his identity and public image.

Watch the video ... she tells us true roast comedy is not for the mainstream -- acknowledging that some viewers may bristle at moments, but roasts have always been built around pushing boundaries.

Dwayne Johnson made a not-so-shocking appearance last night at Netflix's "The Roast of Kevin Hart" ... but then went hardcore, even dropping the R-word, which, if you know his past, is wild.

The movie star was the last person to light into Kevin before it was the comic's turn to throw zingers at everyone else who'd burned him -- and DJ made it count big time.

The short-guy jokes and the quips of talentless-ness were all par for the evening's course -- and even Dwayne hitting on KH's wife was funny -- though not shocking -- but then he dropped the R-word while making fun of controversial NBAer Draymond Green.

Kevin Hart's business world might be running low on punchlines ... because behind the scenes, insiders say there have been layoffs, lawsuits, and chaos instead of comedy.

A new Bloomberg report claims the comedian's once-booming media empire, Hartbeat, has seriously downsized in recent years -- with exec shakeups, stalled projects, canceled staff meetings, and multiple rounds of cuts gutting the company from the inside.

The drama reportedly escalated after Kevin quietly struck a deal in January with Authentic Brands Group -- the company behind celebrity brands tied to stars like Shaquille O'Neal and David Beckham. While the announcement sounded like a power move, the report says the deal also gave Hart money to buy out his private equity partner and move his endorsement business into the hands of Authentic.

Elsie Hewitt just celebrated her first Mother's Day ... but there was one thing missing from her emotional Instagram post -- Pete Davidson.

The model posted several pics with her daughter and her life as a new momma ... with the caption "We're all here because of a mother's sacrifice to make herself your first home. I got to be Scottie's❣️Greatest honor of my life. Happy Mother's Day 💐🌷🌼"

Pete was working on the other side of the country ... in Los Angeles, among those present at Netflix's "The Roast of Kevin Hart" ... but still, the optics aren't great amid the duo's rocky time. Plus, comics took a lot of shots at Pete over his infamous dating history -- probably not something Elsie wanted to hear on Mother's Day.

Mariah Carey spent Mother's Day the diva way ... with a fancy family dinner in West Hollywood, while her ex Nick Cannon was busy sticking to his own holiday tradition.

The singer hit up L.A. hotspot Craig's on Sunday night with her twins she shares with Cannon -- Moroccan and Monroe -- looking glamorous as ever while cameras snapped the family arriving for dinner.

Mariah kept it chic and cool mom-coded in an all-tan ensemble with silver pumps and oversized shades ... while the twins stayed close by, as the trio made their way inside.

"Saturday Night Live" writer Jimmy Fowlie's sister, Christina Lynn Downer, who's been missing for months, once filed a restraining order ... and it's now being pored over by sleuths for possible clues.

According to court docs obtained by TMZ ... in September 2024, Downer filed a temporary restraining order against her then-boyfriend's ex-girlfriend -- claiming she'd been harassing them, even threatening physical harm. The Daily Mail was first to report the order.

Christina also alleged the woman stalked her ... making a copy of her house key and threatening to break into her home. She also accused the woman of stealing several things, including a flash drive with nude photos.

Brittany Furlan says she's bringing in a 5-figure monthly income, including her OnlyFans pay ... and it was all revealed as part of her bitter catfishing court battle ... TMZ has learned.

Brittany filed an income and expense declaration, obtained by TMZ, in her ongoing legal fight with Ronnie Radke.

The social media influencer said she works 80 hours per week and earns $45,000 per month. She listed $17K in income from a real-estate trust and says she has another $2 million in stocks and bonds.

Martin Short put on a brave face and made his first red carpet appearance after the tragic death of his daughter, Katherine, back in February.

The comedy legend stepped out with his sons, Oliver and Henry, at the L.A. premiere of his new Netflix documentary, "Marty, Life Is Short," at Hollywood's Egyptian Theatre Wednesday night.

Martin was suited and booted, smiling for cameras and promoting the doc -- which dives deep into his personal life -- ahead of its May 12 release.

Billie Eilish had a good hang with Amy Poehler ... but admitted she was keeping her Tourette's tics in check the whole time.

During Tuesday's episode of the comedian's "Good Hang with Amy Poehler" podcast ... Billie opened up about her Tourette Syndrome, and how she does everything she possibly can to "suppress" her tics to keep from being "distracting," especially in interviews.

She told Amy ... "As soon as I leave the room, I have to let them all out." The singer said her tics are mostly just vocal noises that she can keep quiet.

Dave Chappelle gave fans a wild surprise Sunday night ... bringing Kanye West onstage during a packed comedy show.

A source at the show tells TMZ ... at The Comedy Store in West Hollywood, Kanye did not perform, but he did make a quick appearance at the very end of the night.

We're told Dave had already done a full set, and was hosting -- phones were banned -- when he brought Ye out, telling the crowd ... "Kanye West has lost more money than I've ever made."

Marlon Wayans’ 3-year-old daughter is already getting into the Wayans family business, TMZ has learned.

According to court docs obtained by TMZ, Marlon’s daughter, Axl July Ivory Wayans, signed a deal to appear in a movie titled “Hudson Avenue.” Axl played the role of Princess Axl.

The docs note Axl’s mom, Brittany Moreland, signed off on the agreement. Axl was paid a daily rate of $1,246.

Sherri Shepherd won't be sitting around and twiddling her thumbs now that she's taped the final live episode of her talk show "Sherri" ... she's weighing her career options -- including turning her show into a podcast.

We caught up with the star in New York City Thursday ... and we had to ask what she's got coming up after she's officially completed "Sherri," which has been cancelled after four seasons.

Shepherd says she's not sure if she would start producing a version of "Sherri" for YouTube or make a podcast ... since the market is saturated with millions of other listening options.

Catherine O'Hara may be gone ... but she lives on, thanks to her famous friend Martin Short.

On Friday, Netflix dropped the trailer for their upcoming doc about the "Only Murders in the Building" star ... which includes some shots of the late legend.

The teaser is full of Martin's A-list acquaintances singing his praises ... and even shows him singing Catherine's, too.