tony-hinchcliffe

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Charlamagne & Andrew Schulz Debate Tony Hinchcliffe & Ari Shaffir’s Kobe Jokes


The hosts of “The Brilliant Idiots” podcast speak on the Kobe Bryant jokes made by several comedians.

Much of the appeal behind the latest episode of The Brilliant Idiots podcast with Charlamagne Tha God and Andrew Schulz was for Russ, who just released his brand new studio album Shake The Snow Globe. The self-produced rapper joined the conversation later in the show to speak about his new project but, before he arrived, the two hosts debated some hot topics in pop culture, including the jokes being made about the death of Kobe Bryant. Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant tragically passed away this weekend in a helicopter crash and fans have been remembering his legacy ever since. His loss has been hard to stomach, and the fact that his 13-year-old daughter and seven others lost their lives as well is just disheartening. Comedians Tony Hinchcliffe and Ari Shaffir have both tried to make light of the situation and, in the general public’s eyes, only one of them actually succeeded. Charlamagne and Andrew Schulz debated on why that is on the new episode of the podcast.

Charlamagne & Andrew Schulz Debate Tony Hinchcliffe & Ari Shaffir's Kobe Jokes
Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images

“Kobe passing? Never…” was the joke that Tony Hinchcliffe told about the late sports hero who was notorious for hogging the basketball. While some would consider it “too soon” to be laughing about this situation, Schulz and Charlamagne argue that, because the laughs are embedded in Kobe’s legacy, this one is alright. “The joke is about legacy,” explains Schulz. “If the joke is about what we remember about Kobe, it’s not making light of his death.”

As for Ari Shaffir, Charla went on to pick him apart. “Your man is lame though,” he started, speaking to his co-host. “It wasn’t a fucking joke! You can’t hide behind the guise of a comedian when it wasn’t a joke. There was no joke. There was no set-up, there was no punchline. You got on motherfucking Instagram and you were like, ‘A fucking rapist died today,’ or some shit like that. There was no joke. You made a statement.”

Charlamagne suggested that Shaffir be “banished” from the comedy community for making such a statement, which Schulz initially disagreed with. However, he noted that there was literally no attempt at a joke in Shaffir’s video. 

Do you think it’s alright to try and laugh about tragedies like this one? Watch below at the 32:50 mark.

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King Los Schools Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe After Kobe Bryant Joke

King Los and Tony Hinchcliffe have a debate on the horizon.

The art of Comedy, especially in today's culture, has often led to many heated debates about sensitivity. Some comedians have no qualms with abandoning morality in favor of landing that edgy punchline, Tony Hinchcliffe among them. Following the tragic news of Kobe Bryant's passing in a helicopter crash, Hinchcliffe took to Twitter to fire one off at his expense. "Kobe passing?" he writes. "That can't be true." As of now, the tweet remains up, a testament to his unwavering stance on the matter. Naturally, many heartbroken fans were quick to call him out, with elite lyricist King Los taking the process a step further. 

Taking to Instagram, Los voiced his displeasure with the joke, explaining his position on why belittling Kobe's death was a slight against the black community. Given that the majority of the exchange has been deleted, it's difficult to cite his words verbatim. As of now, remnants can be seen on his Twitter, with the beginning reading as follows. "I respect freedom of speech but I also understand that the value of the black family will never fully resonate with oppressors children nor is it their responsibility to give a fuck. I’m a big comedy fan but this…"

He later doubled down on his position, and while the full message has since been deleted, a captured screenshot highlights part of it:

"There's absolutely no reason for you to even care how deeply hurtful this joke is to black culture, I understand. I'm not one of those peoeple who belives that anybody outside of the African diaspora can ever truly relate to the traumatic psychological affects these things have on us considering the past 400 yrs. However we all understand that you used a tragic moment where a man died with his 13 yr old daughter to capitalize for your comedic platform. You did what you felt you had to do and violated us willingly so keep that same energy when the favor is returned. I hope we can all still laugh. #GreenLight"

Also on Twitter, Los implies that his words led Hinchcliffe to feel particularly threatened. "Tony Hinchcliffe gathered that somehow I would be responsible for the retaliation of his inconsiderate behavior. No sir you “make fun of people for a living." The message remains unfinished, and the matter appears to have been addressed behind the scenes. 

Following a since-deleted back and forth, Los confirmed that he and Hinchcliffe had settled their differences in the DMs, and would be using the opportunity to stage a discussion on an upcoming podcast. "We decided to bring awareness to the issue by doing a podcast," reveals Los, on Twitter. "I’m going to teach !!!!! I deleted my post and I hope he finds it in his heart to erase his post on Kobe. I can’t change his heart but I can change how we are seen as I represent class and scholarship. I’m coming Tony !!!!"

At the very least, both men were able to find common ground and agree to settle the matter a (hopefully) healthy discourse. Rest in peace, Kobe.