NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Of the nearly 30 speakers who recently warmed up the crowd for comedian Tony Hinchcliffe got the most attention for racist remarks.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if you guys know this, but there鈥檚 literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it鈥檚 called Puerto Rico,鈥� he said, later including lewd and racist comments about Latinos, Jewish and Black people.
The comments have led to condemnation from Democrats and Puerto Rican celebrities, with Ricky Martin sharing a clip of Hinchcliffe's set, captioned: "This is what they think of us.鈥�
The Trump campaign took the rare step of distancing itself from Hinchcliffe. 鈥淭his joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign,鈥� senior adviser Danielle Alvarez said in a statement.
Here's what to know about Hinchcliffe, his comedic styling and the response to his Madision Square Garden comments.
Who is Tony Hinchcliffe?
Hinchcliffe, raised in Youngstown, Ohio, is a stand-up comedian who specializes in the roast style, in which comedians take the podium to needle a celebrity victim with personal and often tasteless jokes. He has written and appeared on eight Comedy Central Roasts, including ones for Snoop Dogg and
Even fellow comedians aren't immune. At the Snoop Dogg roast, Hichcliffe made a joke referencing comedian Luenell, who is Black, being on the Underground Railroad. Of the honoree, he said: 鈥淪noop, you look like the California Raisin that got hooked on heroin.鈥�
He had a Netflix special in 2016 鈥� 鈥淭ony Hinchcliffe: One Shot鈥� 鈥� which was filmed in one continuous take. But he's perhaps most famous for hosting the Kill Tony podcast since 2013, which involves both professional and amateur comedians performing for a panel of judges for 60 seconds and then enduring their criticisms.
He began opening for comics like Joe Rogan, who on his podcast last week, and Jeff Ross and is credited with writing Martha Stewart鈥檚 raunchy zingers for a roast of Justin Bieber.
He has faced backlash before, especially after he used a racial slur in 2021 about fellow comedian and Asian American Peng Dang during a gig in Austin, Texas. Hinchcliffe was dropped by his talent agency, WME, and several of his scheduled gigs were canceled. He never apologized.
鈥淚 knew that what I had done was not wrong. It wasn鈥檛 even the worst thing I did that week,鈥� earlier this year. 鈥淚t was so dumbfounding to me because it was a joke, and my stance is that comedians should never apologize for a joke, should never stop working if everyone comes after them and should never slow down.鈥�
How have others responded to Hinchcliffe's Trump rally routine?
called Hinchcliffe a 鈥渏ack-wad鈥� and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat with Puerto Rican roots, called it 鈥渟uper-upsetting.鈥�
Florida Republican Sen. Rick Scott, up for reelection this year in a state heavily populated with Puerto Ricans, that the 鈥渏oke bombed for a reason,鈥� and 鈥淧uerto Ricans are amazing people and amazing Americans!鈥�
How did Hinchcliffe respond this time?
Roast 鈥� or insult 鈥� comedians often argue that there are no lines in comedy and that everything, no matter how sensitive, is fair game. Hinchcliffe responded to his Madison Square Garden set with a variation on don't expect an apology.
鈥淭hese people have no sense of humor,鈥� he complained on X. 鈥淲ild that a vice presidential candidate would take time out of his 鈥榖usy schedule鈥� to analyze a joke taken out of context to make it seem racist. I love Puerto Rico and vacation there.鈥�
Hinchcliffe has previously made controversial jokes about Sean 鈥淒iddy鈥� Combs, George Floyd and the
鈥淚 think people must realize that we are professionals. And yes, sure, we deal with the repercussions of what happens,鈥� he told Variety.
Mark Kennedy, The Associated Press
