
Latest Controversy: What Happened to Austin, Texas’ Comedian Tony Hinchliffe
Who Is Tony Hinchliffe
Kill Tony has grown from a show with a 60-seat capacity in the Belly Room at The Comedy Store to now selling out arenas like Madison Square Garden in New York City and the H-E-B Center in Austin, Texas. The show has a weekly residency at the Comedy Mothership, and each show is streamed on YouTube averaging between 2.5 and 4 million views each. Tony's edgy humor has sparked controversy in the past, and once again his performance may have landed him in hot water.
What Has Tony Done in the Past
Before the pandemic prevented venues from having live shows, Kill Tony was selling out shows of 250 - 300 people at The Comedy Store. The show was live streaming and being viewed by over 100k people per episode. Those are pretty good numbers, but then something happened. Tony was headlining a show in Texas during the pandemic, and he started roasting his feature with what some would call insensitive and racist language after his Asian American feature brought him on stage. The video posted only showed a short portion of the set that began with Tony's comments. There were videos that came out later to show the context of what Hinchcliffe was saying. While some thought the incident would be the end of Kill Tony and Tony's standup career, it ended up doing the complete opposite. In just a matter of months Kill Tony had a meteoric rise due in part to an audience of fans that were sick of people being told what they could or couldn't say. Tony Hinchcliffe didn't care about the Hollywood Industry. Tony was worried about a big agency in Los Angeles. He was out on his own. Doing and saying what he wanted to without the worry of repercussions. Tony Hincliffe had moved to Texas, and he had become a comedy cowboy.
What Did Tony Do Now
On Sunday, October 27th, Tony Hinchcliffe opened for former President Donald Trump's rally at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Tony is a roast comic. His appearance on the Roast of Tom Brady on Netflix earlier this year brought him massive attention, and rumors of a possible move of Kill Tony from YouTube to Netflix. Tony was sharp, quick, and fearless as he ran through a dais of comedians and athletes with jokes that hit so hard, he was getting standing ovations from audience members during his set. Tony described how a black lesbian on the dais performed cunnilingus, he belittled the emcee Kevin Hart, he made fun of Gronkowski for being dumb, and he ended it by saying Tom Brady looked like a "Gay" Tom Brady. These were all very edgy and highly offensive things that Hinchcliffe was saying. The thing is that was the perfect venue, show, and audience to make those jokes. Everybody loved it. Cut to Sunday when Tony made the same style of jokes during the Donald Trump rally, and it hasn't resulted in quite the same reception as the Roast on Netflix. Hinchcliffe's performance and jokes are front page news for sites like CNN, MSNBC, and NPR. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (who attended the Kill Tony MSG shows) was streaming with VP Nominee Walz, and they were extremely critical of Tony's performance.
What Will Happen Now
In 2021 when Tony Hinchcliffe first experienced controversy it resulted in a massive rise in his fans and the viewership of Kill Tony. There were plenty of people that wanted to see his representation drop him, they wanted venues to cancel his shows, and they wanted his career to end. Instead, the opposite happened. Tony Hinchliffe has become a megastar, and up until this moment it was clear that there was no limit to what he could achieve. Will the fact that he how has millions of more people watching result in a different outcome this time? Will the fact that Tony was opening at a right-wing presidential candidate's rally cause people to look at this incident differently? It's impossible to say right now. I do know that it is one of the biggest stories in the news right now. I also know that as a comedian I think that comedians should be able to say anything that they want if they think it is funny. At the same time, I also fully support someone's right to voice their opinion and disgust of a performers act. Lastly, as Tony's friend I know what is in his heart. Tony is a loving and caring person. He is a fan of roast comedy, so that is the type of humor he has grown to love and perfect as a performer. I don't think that Tony is hateful. I just think that Tony wanted to make people laugh at the types of jokes that appeal to him and his sense of humor. We will wait and see if there is any effect on Tony's career after this, but i think he'll be just fine. His fans love and support him, and I'm sure there will be new people coming to see what Tony Hinchcliffe and Kill Tony are about after this news cycle.
20K Turn Out for Trump Rally at MSG in New York City (PICS)
Gallery Credit: Brian Cody TSM Albany
Donald Trump Rally Shooting: Photos From the Scene
Gallery Credit: Jacklyn Krol