Comedian Pete Davidson is facing significant backlash after an explicit rant during a Netflix roast. The "Saturday Night Live" alum made the controversial comments on Sunday during "The Roast of Kevin Hart" at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles.
Davidson directed much of his vitriol toward fellow comedian Tony Hinchcliffe. He used vulgar language to compare Hinchcliffe to the late Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk.
"Tony Hinchcliffe is here, looking like both a child molester, and the doll they give the child to show where he touched them," Davidson said of the fellow comedian. He continued by making a graphic sexual reference involving Kirk.
"Tony reminds me of Charlie Kirk in that he’s definitely been on camera letting a guy unload in his throat," Davidson stated. The crowd reacted to the crude comments during the live event.
Davidson then called for the death of Hinchcliffe while referencing his "Kill Tony" brand. "Kill Tony, please. Someone f---ing kill Tony," Davidson continued.
The comedian also referenced his past public feud with 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 said.
Charlie Kirk was the 31-year-old co-founder of Turning Point USA. He was shot and killed on Sept. 10, 2025, while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University for the American Comeback Tour.
Social media users and news outlets quickly condemned the jokes. Us Weekly reported on Monday that "Pete Davidson made a brutal joke about the late Charlie Kirk while taking a shot at fellow comedian Tony Hinchcliffe during last night’s #KevinHartRoast on Netflix."
Many critics pointed out the proximity of Kirk's murder, which occurred just eight months ago. One X user wrote on Sunday, "Anything goes in comedy, but this ain’t it. Charlie was murdered just 8 months ago and we wonder why people have become so desensitized to political violence."
Another critic called the comedian's behavior pathetic and lacking decency. "Pete Davidson just showed what kind of person he is. Pathetic, sick, no decency. He has a right to say it and I have a right to criticize him and never listen to him ever again," the user wrote.
Some users highlighted the irony of Davidson's own personal history involving his father. A Monday post on X noted that Davidson understands the pain of loss.
"What makes this even worse is that he lost his father on 9/11. He understands the pain of growing up without a dad, but he’s joking about a man whose children will now grow up without theirs," the post stated.
Blake Neff, the producer of "The Charlie Kirk Show," also weighed in on the situation on social media. Neff noted that the audience did not seem to enjoy the joke.
"I didn't like it, and I'm glad the audience wasn't into it, but there are other 'jokes' we've seen that are clearly a lot more hateful in intent than Pete's, and a few bad-taste jokes about Charlie are the price we have to pay for how iconic he has become in American culture," Neff said.