Stephen A. Smith couldn’t laugh off one Kevin Hart joke.
The ESPN star spent nearly 20 minutes raging over something the comedian said nearly a month ago.
Rather than shrug it off, Smith called it an attack sent by people looking to take him down. Yet critics argued that Hart simply hit a nerve about a criticism that has followed him for years.
Tony Hinchcliffe told an unfortunate joke about George Floyd, the Black man who died after saying he couldn’t breathe as police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck back in 2020 in Minneapolis.
“The Black community is so proud of you,” joked Hinchcliffe. “Right now, George Floyd is looking up at us all, laughing so hard he can’t breathe.”
Backlash immediately followed. But another joke Hart told has sports commentator Stephen A. Smith clapping back at the comic.
Hart even cracked a joke about his “Mount Rushmore of racism,” naming people he believes harbor anti-Black views.
“My Mount Rushmore of racism when it comes to hating Black people — [host] Shane Gillis, Kid Rock, Hulk Hogan, Stephen A. Smith,” he said. “Those are my four people when it comes to hating Black people.”
Tony Hinchcliffe made a WILD George Floyd joke while roasting Kevin Hart 💀
— Killa 🌺 (@KillaKreww) May 11, 2026
“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.” pic.twitter.com/33T2anzhja
The joke tapped into a broader debate about figures like Kid Rock, Hulk Hogan, and Smith, who critics say have benefited from Black support despite accusations of anti-Black rhetoric or behavior.
Smith shared his hurt feelings in a 20-minute rant on his show “Straight Shooter with Stephen A.”
“When I learned about it, I’m not going to front,” he said. “It stung like hell.”
“OK, you know, I tried to, first of all, I got, at least I thought I had a pretty damn good relationship with Kevin Hart. He’s been on my show on many occasions. Um, I’ve known him for years. Um, I don’t know.”
Smith went on to claim that he had “no issue with the joke,” just that it came from a friend.
“I have an issue with the fact that it came from him,” Smith continued. “I thought I had a pretty damn good relationship with Kevin Hart. … I’ve known him for years. … Knowing I’ve spent my life fighting on behalf of my community, that people try to continue this narrative about me that I know is false, hurts to hear out of the mouth of anyone who knows me.”
While talking about the Democrats and politics, Smith went on to claim that in other communities people are allowed to have a different opinion, but not in the Black community.
“Black person, speak up. Your own people hate you,” he ranted. “You’re a sellout. You’re —you’ve betrayed your race ’cause I’m asking questions.”
Stephen A. Smith reveals that he’s DISAPPOINTED in Kevin Hart, who he considered a friend, for saying that he’s on the Mt. Rushmore of RACIST people who hate the Black community and goes OFF on the Democratic Party for their hypocrisy 😳💔
— Slime🐍 (@ItsKingSlime) May 28, 2026
“I thought I had a pretty damn good… pic.twitter.com/PHVF7jhSHN
“I don’t believe I deserve this kind of vitriol,” Smith noted. “And Kevin Hart’s roast, joke, whatever it was, was just the latest salvo shot in my direction.”
He continued suggesting that the joke was fueled by Democrats, who he described as a “party that wants you to cow tow and march to their every whim.”
“I’m not built like that,” he blasted. “Keep messing with me.”
However, reactions to Smith’s comments on social media were unempathetic.
One user wrote, “This should be a wake-up call to @stephenasmith We all see u be tap dancing, it’s time to fix that but he won’t.”
“Kevin Hart was absolutely correct,” another countered. “Stephen Smith can be harsh towards Black people. Very seldom he bashes Whites.”
On Facebook, another blasted, “Truth hurts.”
Skeptics wondered what message he was sending by blaming Democrats for Hart’s joke.
“lol, why are you blaming the democrats @stephenasmith! You are crazy, bro,” one person wondered.
Another said, “This tank headed coon never has smoke for Republicans. Always some bs about Dems. Meanwhile Republikklans are destroying all Black progress of the past 70+ years and he hasn’t said a damn word.”
Hart defended Hinchcliffe’s joke while appearing on The Breakfast Club following the special’s premiere, but he also said that it “wasn’t a tasteful joke to our culture.”
“People are talking about that joke,” said Hart. “Remove me from it. I didn’t say it. If you are upset that the night went on, that’s a different conversation, it’s nothing I can do…. I’m not compromising the live production for the reaction of what? What do you want me to do? Drag him off? Want me to fight after?”
🚨 @KevinHart4real pulled up to The Breakfast Club and responded to the critics about his roast. “The George Floyd Joke wasn’t a tasteful joke”
— The Breakfast Club (@breakfastclubam) May 26, 2026
Check out the full interview on @netflix pic.twitter.com/PNsvQ2MrI0
The family of George Floyd released a statement to TMZ following the roast, saying, “Let’s try to be a little bit more positive and not sit up there doing colon inspections by white comedians.”
Hart has not yet responded to Smith’s comments.
