The production team behind the Charlie Kirk Show has fired back at comedian Pete Davidson following a controversial set at a recent Netflix roast. During the event, Davidson made a graphic joke referencing the 2025 assassination of the Turning Point USA founder—a move Kirk’s colleagues described as a “distasteful” product of a “dark” Hollywood culture.
The Controversy at the Roast
The joke occurred during a Netflix special hosted by Kevin Hart, where Davidson compared fellow comedian Tony Hinchcliffe to the late conservative influencer. Davidson’s quip used crude, suggestive imagery to reference Kirk’s public death, sparking immediate backlash from Kirk’s inner circle.
On a recent podcast episode, Kirk’s close friends and collaborators—Andrew Kolvet, Blake Neff, and Daisy Phelps—addressed the material directly.
On today's show we discussed Pete Davidson's joke about Charlie's death while roasting Tony Hinchcliffe. My take: I didn't like it, and I'm glad the audience wasn't into it, but there are other "jokes" we've seen that are clearly a lot more hateful in intent than Pete's, and a… pic.twitter.com/NFH8CM69sU
— Blake Neff (@BlakeSNeff) May 11, 2026
Key Reactions from the Kirk Team
- Andrew Kolvet: While acknowledging that comedy can be a “powerful outlet,” Kolvet admitted the clip made him “cringe.” He argued that because Kirk was murdered in a “grotesque, public way,” the humor crossed a line from satire to cruelty. “It’s not that we can’t laugh along with funny jokes,” Kolvet noted, “but for this particular moment, it just felt distasteful.”
- Daisy Phelps: Phelps framed the issue as a “question of morality.” She pointed to Davidson’s own history—specifically the loss of his father on 9/11—and noted that Davidson himself has been the subject of “disgusting” jokes regarding that tragedy. Phelps suggested Davidson should have held himself to a “higher standard,” considering Kirk’s two young children are now growing up without a father.
- Blake Neff: Neff took a different meta-perspective, suggesting that the joke is a testament to Kirk’s lasting impact. He compared the inevitability of such humor to jokes made about the JFK assassination. “Charlie is an iconic figure… his death was basically the biggest news story in the country,” Neff said. “The downside is he’s going to be a subject of humor because anything great is subject to humor.”
Context of the Tragedy
Charlie Kirk was shot and killed in 2025 during a speaking engagement at Utah Valley University. Since then, his legacy has remained a lightning rod for political debate. While his team expressed disgust at the “dark” nature of Hollywood humor, they ultimately concluded that Kirk’s status as a “figure of history” makes him an inevitable target for the comedy circuit.
Representatives for Pete Davidson have not yet responded to requests for comment.
