Tony Hinchcliffe ‘Apologizes to Absolutely Nobody’ for Puerto Rico Joke, Admits a Trump Rally ‘Wasn’t the Best F—ing Place to Do This Set At’

Zack Sharf

12 November 2024 at 11:10 am·3-min read

Comedian and “Kill Tony” podcast host Tony Hinchcliffe ignited a national firestorm with his appearance at Donald Trump’s Oct. 27 rally at New York City’s Madison Square Garden. While endorsing Trump for president via a comedy set, Hinchcliffe made a joke in which he referred to Puerto Rico as “a floating island of garbage.” Widespread backlash ensued, with prominent Hollywood figures such as Bad Bunny, Jennifer Lopez and Aubrey Plaza slamming Hinchcliffe for the racist joke.

Hinchcliffe has now debuted the latest episode of “Kill Tony,” which was recorded the night after his appearance at the Trump rally amid the height of backlash against him. He responded amid the joke controversy by admitting that perhaps a Trump rally was not the best venue for this comedy set, although Hinchcliffe was adamant that he will not apologize.

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“Last night I gave a speech, I don’t know if you heard about this,” Hinchcliffe said during the intro to the live podcast. “It was a speech about free speech, believe it or not. I am currently under attack. I am the news. I referenced Puerto Rico, which currently has a landfill problem in which all of their landfills are filled to the brim. I am the only person who knew about this, unfortunately. With that said, I just want to say that I love Puerto Ricans, they’re very smart people — they’re smart, they’re street smart, they’re smart enough to know when they’re being used as political fodder. Right now that is happening.”

“I apologize to absolutely nobody,” he continued. “Not to the Puerto Ricans, not to the whites, not to the Blacks, not to the Palestinians, not to the Jews, and not to my own mother, who I made fun of during the set. Nobody clipped that. No headlines about me making fun of my own mother.”

Hinchcliffe then concluded, “Perhaps that venue at that time wasn’t the best fucking place to do this set at. But in any matter, to the mainstream media and to anybody trying to slander me online: That’s what I do, and that’s never going to change.”

The comedian received an enthusiastic applause from his live audience. While Hinchcliffe’s response was made the night after the rally, the episode of “Kill Tony” in which it was featured did not post online until a week after Donald Trump won the election over Kamala Harris.

In the days after Trump rally, Hinchcliffe was widely criticized for a making a racist joke. As Plaza said at WSJ Magazine Innovator Awards: “I just wanted to very quickly respond to the racist joke that was made at that Trump rally about Puerto Rico, where most of my family is from. Thankfully, my sweet abuelita wasn’t here to hear that disgusting remark. But if she was alive today, I think she would say, ‘Tony Hinchcliffe, go fuck yourself.’ And yes, the Wall Street Journal can quote me on that.”

Watch Hinchcliffe’s response to the controversy in the “Kill Tony” episode below.

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