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Saturday Night Live veterans Dana Carvey and David Spade have shared their thoughts on the divisive Roast of Kevin Hart. The roast generated plenty of headlines for the aggressive tone some of its performers had, most notably Tony Hinchcliffe and Chelsea Handler.
According to the veteran comics, recent roasts — particularly Netflix’s The Roast of Kevin Hart — have become too serious and mean-spirited, which David Spade said has caused them to “lose their fun.”
Hinchcliffe went viral for a joke about George Floyd being in hell, while Handler gained social media traction for making a joke about a handful of comedians’ — Hinchcliffe, Shane Gillis, etc. — apparent allegiance to President Donald Trump.
Dana Carvey and David Spade say that comedy roasts have become “brutal” and have lost “their fun” in response to Netflix’s The Roast of Kevin Hart
“Roasts are f—— brutal. They just get eviscerated. They don’t even know what’s coming,” Carvey said on the pair’s Fly on the Wall podcast. “I grew up with the Dean Martin roasts. Those were great. At one point, the roast jumped the shark and went downtown into… what is the foulest, most…?”
“The first time it was Chevy Chase. That’s the one… It went from Sinatra getting roasted by Don Rickles, his friends… when it’s not a friend. They’re like, ‘Hey Chevy, you f—— asshole.’ And he’s like, ‘Me?'” Carvey concurred. “They kind of lost their fun.”
Dana and David discuss The Roast of Kevin Hart, Spencer Pratt’s Airstream, and David recaps Euphoria while Dana wonders if he should have done more nudity in his career. @DavidSpade @danacarvey Tune in! https://t.co/5mMMzHhgkh pic.twitter.com/UhCHOr0Tl3
— Fly On The Wall (@flyonthewallpod) May 18, 2026
In the aftermath, numerous prominent Black culture presences called out Hart for allowing Hinchcliffe’s joke about George Floyd to fly. Hart has since defended Hinchcliffe for “understanding the assignment.”
Despite their misgivings, Spade revealed that he himself has “signed up to be roasted” and expects he will “pretty much cry the entire time.”