Tony Hinchcliffe is facing online backlash after joking about the suicide of Sheryl Underwood’s late husband during Kevin Hart’s Netflix roast at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles on Sunday night. Hinchcliffe told the crowd, “Her husband committed suicide three years into the marriage,” and then added, “I’ve been sitting next to her for two hours, and I have to ask: how did he last that long?”
The comments cut at a loss Underwood has discussed publicly for years. Her husband, Michael Sparkman, died by suicide in 1990 after battling depression, three years into their marriage. When she later spoke on The Talk in 2018 after the death of fashion designer Kate Spade, Underwood said, “That pain … it doesn’t go away,” and added that “the person who is no longer alive has now had the final word.”
Underwood did not let the roast moment pass without answering back. In her own response, she said, “Question for the day is, who has had more Black d—k in this town? Me or Chelsea Handler? The answer is Tony Hinchcliffe,” turning the insult back on Hinchcliffe in the same unapologetic style that has long defined roast comedy.
Hinchcliffe was not the only comic to bring up Sparkman that night. Host Shane Gillis also referenced Underwood’s husband earlier in the evening, joking about “her husband jumping from a building” before tying the line to “the Golden State Warriors logo featuring the Bay Bridge.” The exchange became one of the most talked-about moments of the roast, according to reports, even as the show also included a reconciliation moment between Hart and Katt Williams.
The reaction underscores the line roast comedy keeps crossing when it reaches into real grief. Underwood has spoken openly about Sparkman’s death and the lasting weight of that loss, and her response after the roast made clear she did not see the joke as off-limits in a comedy setting. She told TMZ afterward, “Freedom of speech is alive and well at Netflix,” leaving no doubt that she expected the controversy — and was prepared to meet it head-on.
