Dave Smith Defends Charlie Kirk and George Floyd Jokes as Hilarious Comedy
"It was hilarious. It was a great joke. I don't even like understand entertaining this conversation of whether it crossed the line. And as you pointed out, Piers, right? Like it just shows everybody's hypocrisy immediately. 'Cause like the people who are outraged about the George Floyd joke aren't outraged about the Charlie Kirk joke and vice versa."
About this episode
On this episode of Piers Morgan Uncensored, host Piers Morgan assembled a panel of comedians and media personalities to debate whether comedy has crossed a line in the post-woke era, sparked by Netflix's airing of the Kevin Hart roast featuring shocking jokes about assassinated conservative Charlie Kirk and George Floyd's death. The panel included comedian Dave Smith, podcaster Adam Sosnick, media personality Emily Wilson, and Jay Dyer. The central flashpoint was Pete Davidson's joke comparing Tony Hinchcliffe to Charlie Kirk with a graphic sexual punchline, which drew mixed reactions from the panel. Smith called the joke hilarious and defended absolute free speech in comedy, arguing roasts are inherently consequence-free zones. Sosnick attacked Davidson's comedy credentials entirely, claiming he's never told a memorable joke and became famous for dating rather than talent. Wilson dismissed George Floyd's family objections to Tony Hinchcliffe's joke, calling Floyd a career criminal who overdosed, and argued Netflix applies a double standard favoring jokes against conservatives. The panel broadly agreed Netflix would never air comparable content targeting a liberal Democrat figure. Morgan pressed the group on whether any line exists in comedy, with most defending market-based consequences over censorship while acknowledging their own platforms maintain higher standards. Smith revealed Obama's predator drone joke as the only one to genuinely offend him in 20 years. The episode ended with attempted roasts of each other, though most fell flat, and Morgan lamenting the loss of politically neutral late-night comedy exemplified by Johnny Carson and Jay Leno compared to today's partisan figures like Jimmy Kimmel.
Key takeaways
- Dave Smith called Pete Davidson's Charlie Kirk assassination joke hilarious and refused to acknowledge any line was crossed in roast comedy.
- Adam Sosnick claimed Pete Davidson has never told a memorable joke and made his career on dating headlines rather than comedy talent.
- Emily Wilson dismissed George Floyd family's response to jokes, calling Floyd a career criminal who overdosed and questioning why anyone should care about their views.
- Panel consensus emerged that Netflix would never air comparable jokes about a prominent liberal Democrat figure, exposing alleged double standard.
- Dave Smith revealed Obama's White House Correspondents Dinner predator drone joke as the only one to genuinely offend him in 20 years of comedy.
- Morgan pressed panel on whether any line exists in comedy, with most defending market consequences over censorship while maintaining higher platform standards.
- Discussion highlighted conservative frustration that Jimmy Kimmel avoided cancellation for Trump jokes while Shane Gillis faced different treatment for racial material.