Chelsea Handler went after comedians Shane Gillis and Tony Hinchcliffe after saying she heard from their exes, called parts of the Kevin Hart roast “gross,” and defended her own behavior and words while weighing in on jokes about race and a fellow comedian’s reaction.
Handler told podcast host Deon Cole she expected a “gross vibe” at the roast and pointed to Gillis and Hinchcliffe as the source of that mood. She said ex-girlfriends of the two comedians reached out to her with stories that pushed her to form a harsher view of them. That led her to conclude in blunt terms that they fit a pattern of behavior she finds unacceptable.
Handler framed what she heard from those women as confirmation of broader problems. “That they’re racist, that they’re bigots, that they’re sexist, you know, that they think they’re, like, invincible,” Handler claimed. She also relayed a version of how Gillis sees himself: Gillis “believes — this is per one of his exes — that he’s invincible. He’s like, ‘Doesn’t matter. I can say anything I want,'” Handler said.
At the same time, she made a point about double standards when it comes to sexual freedom. Handler said she does the same kinds of things as the men she called out, only she is a woman and therefore judged differently. “I’m rich, I’m famous, and I’m hot.” That line was used to underline her argument that her choices get a different kind of response.
She did not shy from describing her own life as deliberately sexual, saying she will keep seeing people as long as she feels attractive and wants to. “That’s what I’m going to do. And I’m going to continue to keep doing that as long as, you know, I remain as f**kable as I am,” she said. To Handler, her personal choices and her critiques of others can coexist, even if some find that messy.
Handler also took aim at specific roast jokes she found offensive, particularly material touching on race and painful subjects. She singled out lines that referenced lynching and jokes about a fellow comedian’s deceased spouse, calling those choices “disgustingness” even while noting that some in the room did not personally register offense. “I’m not here to tell black people what’s funny about black jokes,” Handler told Cole.
“That’s my opinion. I don’t like that. I also don’t like the N-word, but I have plenty of black friends who toss that around all the time. It’s not my place to say, ‘Oh, that word makes me feel uncomfortable.’ You know, black people are allowed to do whatever they want.” Handler made clear she respects others’ decisions about what crosses a line, even if she would draw it differently.
Shortly after Handler’s comments were posted, there was an appearance by Sheryl Underwood on Gillis’ podcast where she told the hosts not to be offended on her behalf. “Don’t be offended for me if I’m not offended. But be offended for your point of view,” she told Gillis and co-host Matt McCusker. “You can have your point of view; we’re not saying you can’t have it.”
Handler’s account of talking to ex-girlfriends and hearing unflattering reports influenced both how she judged the roast and how she judged the performers. She described a sense that certain comics operate with a belief they can say anything without consequence, and that frustrated her given the topics they chose to mine for laughs.
The conversation sits at the intersection of comedy, accountability, and personal freedom: how to weigh an artist’s onstage choices against their offstage behavior, and whether different standards apply based on gender or fame. Handler leaned into that tension, calling out what she finds unacceptable while refusing to apologize for her own life.
Whatever the fallout, this episode underscores how quickly a roast can become a cultural flashpoint, and how personal testimony from people connected to a performer can change the public narrative overnight. Handler’s blunt framing and exact quotes have now become part of that broader debate.
