The family of George Floyd has criticised comedian Tony Hinchcliffe following a joke he made during Netflix’s The Roast of Kevin Hart, according to TMZ.

During the programme, Hinchcliffe addressed Kevin Hart by saying, “The Black community is so proud of you… right now George Floyd is looking up at us all laughing so hard he can’t breathe.”

The remark quickly drew criticism online and prompted a response from a spokesperson for The Gianna & George Floyd Foundation, who described the joke as “sad for the culture”.

According to TMZ, Floyd’s relatives and close friends were disappointed that the subject was included in the roast and believed the topic should have been avoided entirely. The foundation also criticised what it described as a continued pattern of jokes involving Floyd’s death.

“We are trying to rebuild things for our community and make things better in our community,” the foundation told TMZ. “Let’s try to be a little bit more positive and not sit up there doing colon inspections by white comedians.”

The backlash extended beyond the George Floyd joke, with viewers also criticising comments Hinchcliffe made about Sheryl Underwood and her late husband during the roast.

Some audience members argued the material crossed personal boundaries despite the traditionally unrestricted nature of celebrity roast events.

This is not the first time Hinchcliffe has faced criticism for references involving Floyd. During The Roast of Tom Brady in 2024, the comedian joked that former NFL player Rob Gronkowski “looked like the final boss in George Floyd the video game”.

The controversy follows similar criticism directed at Lil Yachty in 2025 after he previewed an unreleased song containing a reference to Floyd during a livestream hosted by Plaqueboymax.