NEW YORK (AP) — Of the nearly 30 speakers who recently warmed up the crowd for Donald Trump at Madison Square Garden, comedian Tony Hinchcliffe got the most attention for racist remarks.
“I don’t know if you guys know this, but there’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico,” he said, later including lewd and racist comments about Latinos, Jewish and Black people.
The comments have led to condemnation from Democrats and Puerto Rican celebrities, with Ricky Martin sharing a clip of Hinchcliffe's set, captioned: "This is what they think of us.”
The Trump campaign took the rare step of distancing itself from Hinchcliffe. “This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign,” senior adviser Danielle Alvarez said in a statement.
Here's what to know about Hinchcliffe, his comedic styling and the response to his Madision Square Garden comments.
Hinchcliffe, raised in Youngstown, Ohio, is a stand-up comedian who specializes in the roast style, in which comedians take the podium to needle a celebrity victim with personal and often tasteless jokes. He has written and appeared on eight Comedy Central Roasts, including ones for Snoop Dogg and Tom Brady.
Even fellow comedians aren't immune. At the Snoop Dogg roast, Hichcliffe made a joke referencing comedian Luenell, who is Black, being on the Underground Railroad. Of the honoree, he said: “Snoop, you look like the California Raisin that got hooked on heroin.”
He had a Netflix special in 2016 — “Tony Hinchcliffe: One Shot” — which was filmed in one continuous take. But he's perhaps most famous for hosting the Kill Tony podcast since 2013, which involves both professional and amateur comedians performing for a panel of judges for 60 seconds and then enduring their criticisms.
He began opening for comics like Joe Rogan, who did a three-hour interview with Trump on his podcast last week, and Jeff Ross and is credited with writing Martha Stewart’s raunchy zingers for a roast of Justin Bieber.
He has faced backlash before, especially after he used a racial slur in 2021 about fellow comedian and Asian American Peng Dang during a gig in Austin, Texas. Hinchcliffe was dropped by his talent agency, WME, and several of his scheduled gigs were canceled. He never apologized.
“I knew that what I had done was not wrong. It wasn’t even the worst thing I did that week,” he told Variety earlier this year. “It was so dumbfounding to me because it was a joke, and my stance is that comedians should never apologize for a joke, should never stop working if everyone comes after them and should never slow down.”
Democratic vice presidential nominee Gov. Tim Walz called Hinchcliffe a “jack-wad” and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat with Puerto Rican roots, called it “super-upsetting.”
Florida Republican Sen. Rick Scott, up for reelection this year in a state heavily populated with Puerto Ricans, wrote on social media that the “joke bombed for a reason,” and “Puerto Ricans are amazing people and amazing Americans!”
Roast — or insult — comedians often argue that there are no lines in comedy and that everything, no matter how sensitive, is fair game. Hinchcliffe responded to his Madison Square Garden set with a variation on don't expect an apology.
“These people have no sense of humor,” he complained on X. “Wild that a vice presidential candidate would take time out of his ‘busy schedule’ to analyze a joke taken out of context to make it seem racist. I love Puerto Rico and vacation there.”
Hinchcliffe has previously made controversial jokes about Sean “Diddy” Combs, George Floyd and the Baltimore Bridge collapse.
“I think people must realize that we are professionals. And yes, sure, we deal with the repercussions of what happens,” he told Variety.
Tony Hinchcliffe speaks before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump during a campaign rally at Madison Square Garden, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
PARIS (AP) — A trial opened Monday on charges that Gérard Depardieu sexually assaulted two women on a film set in 2021, but his lawyer said the French actor could not attend due to poor health and asked for a postponement.
Depardieu, who has denied any wrongdoing, is accused of using “violence, coercion, surprise or threat” in the alleged assaults, which prosecutors said took place on the set of “Les Volets verts” (”The Green Shutters.”)
The criminal court in Paris opened the trial, but the proceedings were almost immediately suspended Monday as the panel of judges considered the request for postponement made by Depardieu's lawyer, Jérémie Assous.
Assous said that doctors had decided the actor was not well enough to attend the proceedings, although he was eager to appear and defend himself before the court.
“He is anxious to defend himself, because for over three years, a huge number of inaccuracies, false information and lies have been systematically disseminated and relayed,” Assous told The Associated Press. “We’ve only had the the word of prosecution. And now, finally, we’re going to be able to have the word of the defence,” he said.
Prosecutors say that in both cases, women reported that the 75-year-old actor trapped them between his legs and groped their buttocks, genitals, chest and breasts over their clothes.
France continues to reckon with sexual violence in the wake of the #MeToo movement that initially struggled to find traction, especially in the cinema industry.
About 100 people gathered outside the court on Monday, some holding signs, responding to a call from several feminist groups to show support for victims of sexual violence. Some activists made their way into the courtroom and sat among other members of the general public attending the hearings.
One of the reported victims has been identified as a 53-year-old production designer. The Associated Press doesn't generally identify victims of sexual assault without their consent.
According to Paris prosecutors, the woman told investigators that Depardieu had earlier made sexual remarks and then one day, as she walked past him, he "grabbed her, pulled her toward him, blocked her with his legs, and groped her waist, hips and chest, accompanying his gestures with obscene remarks."
Prosecutors said three people witnessed it, and that the woman made an attempt to break away from Depardieu's grip and seemed “shocked.” A psychiatrist examined her and granted her a seven-day leave, they said.
After the incident, it was arranged for Depardieu to apologize. But in a TV interview that aired Saturday, the woman said the actor was furious and blamed her for causing trouble. Prosecutors said witnesses confirmed that what Depardieu had said did not constitute an apology.
In the interview with French online news site Mediapart, the production designer — who spoke on camera but only gave her first name — said the incident had taken a toll on her personal and professional life for at least 18 months. She said she could not sleep well, suffered anxiety attacks and lost weight.
According to prosecutors, the woman said it had taken her a while to file a complaint, but she decided to do so after hearing on television that there had never been an incident during the shoot.
The month before the incident, another woman working on the film set had complained about Depardieu, prosecutors said.
A director’s assistant told investigators that Depardieu had touched her buttocks on several occasions. She said she had expressed her disapproval and in return Depardieu had been insulting toward her. She was also given a six-day leave by a psychiatrist.
Assous, Depardieu's lawyer, told the AP in an email Saturday that “the witnesses and evidence (Depardieu) will produce will demonstrate that he is the target of false accusations.”
Many have come out in support of Depardieu, including French President Emmanuel Macron.
Late last year, 56 French performers, writers and producers published an essay defending the film star, saying that when “Gérard Depardieu is targeted this way, it is the art (of cinema) that is being attacked.”
Their call came just weeks after national broadcaster France 2 put out a documentary outlining accusations of sexual misconduct by 16 women against Depardieu, and showed the actor making obscene remarks and gestures during a 2018 trip to North Korea.
In the footage, Depardieu can be seen making groaning sounds and sexual comments in front of women, including a girl about 10 years old who is riding a horse. He can also be seen posing for a photo, saying he was “touching the bottom” of a North Korean interpreter by his side.
He was charged in 2021 with rape and sexual assault after authorities revived a 2018 investigation that was initially dropped, following allegations from actor Charlotte Arnould.
In an open letter published in the conservative-leaning newspaper Le Figaro, Depardieu said last year, “I have never, ever abused a woman.”
The actor was long seen as a national icon in France. He has been a global ambassador for French film and enjoyed international fame with several roles in Hollywood.
Earlier this year, actor Judith Godrèche called on France’s film industry to “face the truth” on sexual violence and physical abuse during the Cesar Awards ceremony, France’s version of the Oscars.
Godrèche had previously alleged that two prominent filmmakers had sexually abused her when she was a teen, sending new shockwaves through the industry.
More recently, the ongoing trial of 50 men accused of raping a woman who had been drugged and rendered unconscious by her husband shook the country. Protests spread nationwide last weekend in support of the victim, a mother and grandmother in her early 70s, who has become a hero to many victims of sexual violence for insisting that her trial be open to the public.
Women's rights activists demonstrate outside the Paris palace of justice as French actor Gérard Depardieu, who is facing trial for the alleged sexual assaults of two women on a film set in 2021, won't appear before a criminal court, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)
Women's rights activists demonstrate outside the Paris palace of justice as French actor Gérard Depardieu, who is facing trial for the alleged sexual assaults of two women on a film set in 2021, won't appear before a criminal court, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)
Women's rights activists demonstrate outside the Paris palace of justice as French actor Gérard Depardieu, who is facing trial for the alleged sexual assaults of two women on a film set in 2021, won't appear before a criminal court, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)
FILE - Actor Gerard Depardieu addresses the media during the press conference for the film 'Saint Amour' at the 2016 Berlinale Film Festival in Berlin, Germany, on Feb. 19, 2016. (AP Photo/Axel Schmidt, File)
Actor Gerard Depardieu poses for photographers during a photo call for the film Valley of Love, at the 68th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, on May 22, 2015. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)
