Meet Tony Hinchcliffe, whose racist jokes at Trump’s rally earned the ire of AOC and Ricky Martin: he’s opened for Joe Rogan, helped Martha Stewart roast Justin Bieber, and joked about Diddy
Meet Tony Hinchcliffe, whose racist jokes at Trump’s rally earned the ire of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ricky Martin: he’s opened for Joe Rogan, helped Martha Stewart roast Justin Bieber, and joked about Diddy. Photo: AP
He called Puerto Rico ‘a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean’ before insulting Latinos, and Jewish and Black people – and even the Trump campaign distanced itself from the comments
Of the nearly 30 speakers who recently warmed up the crowd for Donald Trump at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, comedian Tony Hinchcliffe got the most attention for racist remarks.
“I don’t know if you guys know this, but there’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico,” he said, later including lewd and racist comments about Latinos as well as Jewish and Black people.
Tony Hinchcliffe on stage at Sunday’s Trump rally at Madison Square Garden in New York. Photo: Getty Images
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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.”
The Trump campaign took the rare step of distancing itself from Hinchcliffe. “This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign,” senior adviser Danielle Alvarez said in a statement.
Here’s what to know about Hinchcliffe, his comedic styling, and the response to his Madison Square Garden set.
Who is Tony Hinchcliffe?
Tony Hinchcliffe in a post promoting his comedy tour back in February. Photo: @tonyhinchcliffe/Instagram
Raised in Youngstown, Ohio, Hinchcliffe is a stand-up comedian who specialises 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 for Snoop Dogg and Tom Brady.
Fellow comedians aren’t immune. At the Snoop Dogg roast, Hinchcliffe made a joke referencing comedian Luenell, who is Black, being on the Underground Railroad. Of the honoree, he said, “Snoop, you look like the California Raisin that got hooked on heroin.”
He had a Netflix special in 2016 – Tony Hinchcliffe: One Shot – 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 criticism.
He began opening for comics like Joe Rogan, who did a three-hour interview with Trump on his podcast last week, and Jeff Ross, and is credited with writing Martha Stewart’s raunchy zingers for a 2015 roast of Justin Bieber.
