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‘Apologize to Erika Kirk!' Pete Davidson torched online over 'vile' Charlie Kirk joke during Kevin Hart roast
Social media users slammed Pete Davidson after clips from Netflix’s The Roast of Kevin Hart circulated online and call for apologies to Erika Kirk.
Comedian Pete Davidson is facing online backlash after a joke he made during Netflix’s live comedy special The Roast of Kevin Hart triggered outrage among supporters of political activist Charlie Kirk.
The call for apologies from Davidson came following Sunday night's stream of the Kevin Hart Roast show after clips from the roast began circulating across social media.
Netflix's The Roast of Kevin Hart, presented by Shane Gillis, featured a roster of comedians delivering purposely offensive jokes about celebrities, politics, and pop culture as part of the streaming platform's Netflix Is A Joke Fest 2026 initiative.
As of Monday, neither Davidson nor Netflix had publicly responded to the backlash.
Read more: What did Pete Davidson say about Charlie Kirk's shooting? Joke on Kevin Hart's roast sparks row
What was the joke?
At the highly anticipated Netflix live event at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, Pete Davidson lambasted one participant after another. Davidson brought up Charlie Kirk's shooting when it was Tony Hinchcliffe's turn to be roasted.
Davidson said, “Tony Hinchcliffe is here, looking like both a child molester and the doll they give the child to show where he touched them. Tony reminds me of Charlie Kirk in that he’s definitely been on camera letting a guy unload in his throat.”
Pete Davidson further suggested that Tony suffers the same fate as Charlie Kirk and said, “Kill Tony, please. Someone f****** kill Tony. Tony, nothing you say tonight will hurt my feelings. I was in a beef with Kanye, so I’ve taken shots from better gay Nazis.”
Read more: Kevin Hart Las Vegas affair: Did he cheat on his wife Eniko? 2017 row explained amid Tom Brady joke
Davidson's comments raise call for apologies from Erika Kirk and the children
The backlash surrounding Davidson became one of several controversies emerging from The Roast of Kevin Hart.
One viral post accused Davidson of making a “vile” joke involving Charlie Kirk and demanded that the comedian apologize to Kirk’s wife, Erika Kirk, and their children. "
“Dear Pete @Netflix: you are not funny, or relevant. And you should get on your hands & knees to apologize to Erika Kirk & her children,” the post read.
In another X post, a user refers to Pete Davidson's own experience of losing a parent and wrote, “What makes this even worse is that he lost his father on 9/11. He understands the pain of growing up without a dad, but he’s joking about a man whose children will now grow up without theirs.”
Another user wrote, “Anything goes in comedy, but this ain’t it. Charlie was murdered just 8 months ago and we wonder why people have become so desensitized to political violence.”
