Latest news with #TonyHinchcliffe
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Marlon Wayans weighs in on controversial Tony Hinchcliffe joke, which politician could be a comic
EXCLUSIVE: Marlon Wayans encouraged his fellow comedians to keep making those off-color jokes in a recent interview with Fox News Digital. Americans' funny bones seem to have stopped working in recent years amid a rise in cultural sensitivities. But Wayans said he's never let a changing culture affect him and not once has he watered down his humor. And he said he's not one to judge when other comics tell edgy jokes. One quip in particular caused a weeks-long controversy in the lead up to the 2024 presidential election. Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe spoke at a rally for President Donald Trump and joked that Puerto Rico was a "floating island of garbage." "There's always going to be different sides of me, but I'm always going to be like 85% comedian," Wayans told Fox News Digital. "And I think comedians have every right to poke fun at everything. Now, if you'd have told that joke maybe a different way, Puerto Ricans may have found it funny. But I'm pretty sure there's some Puerto Ricans that found it funny. It depends on how dark your humor is. And I think you have to have the courage to go, 'Hey, this is funny. Tony roasts for a living.'" Comedian Marlon Wayans Rejects Cancel Culture, Says It Only Exists 'In Society's Mind' "I'm not gonna cancel any comedian for a joke," Wayans added. "Even if it was a Black joke. You know, hopefully you told the joke that makes Black people laugh. You know, Don Rickles did some of the most edgy, racist humor, but man was he funny. And I'm always gonna subscribe to comedy." Read On The Fox News App Wayans said it's a comedian's job to push buttons and boundaries. "I know Tony and you know I've watched him perform at The Comedy Store," Wayans continued. "Tony's a funny dude, and I think, look, we gotta push the envelope. We gotta push buttons. We have to be able to make people feel uncomfortable. We're trying to make people laugh at themselves. We're not trying to hurt your feelings… but sometimes there's casualties in war." "Finding jokes is war," he explained. "And sometimes you step on land mines, and that's okay. Next joke. And every joke you tell is going to be like that. But you can't be – you gotta be fearless. You gotta just walk through that landmine. Some is going to blow up in your face. You know, I'm pretty sure some people enjoyed it. And then the majority of it, maybe they didn't. But, next joke." Bill Maher also defended Hinchcliffe's joke when he had the comedian on his "Club Random" podcast last week. "There's no doubt it's insulting to Puerto Ricans, but I have been over the same territory," Maher said. "I mean, I don't think I would do exactly that joke, but I certainly have done many that have been objected to.""My thing was always, you know what? Everybody has to accept, in the framework of comedy, insults… you know, and they're never fair," he added. Andrew Schulz Says 'Country Has Spoken Loud And Clear' On Wokeness After 'Unanimous' Trump Win On The Issue Wayans was one of the stars of "In Living Color," an "SNL"-like satire show that ran from 1990-1994, with his siblings Keenan Ivory Wayans, Damon Wayans, Shaun Wayans, and sister Kim Wayans. Eventual megastars like Jamie Foxx and Jim Carrey also served as cast members. "'In Living Color' was like my alma mater," Wayans fondly recalled. "It's like where I came up, it's my graduating class. I was the freshman and I learned so much. And that type of humor is ingrained in my soul. That's our family humor. So we're always gonna bring that. Every time we bring a Wayans project, we're always gonna have that flavor. That's just who we are. We're equal opportunity offenders, no holds barred. And we have fun, and we go dark, but with kids' gloves." That's true of his filmography too, Wayans said, referencing his 2004 movie "White Chicks," in which he and brother Shawn play two FBI agents who disguise themselves as White women in order to bait a kidnapper. Some have suggested the movie could never be made today. "The whole purpose is not to hurt feelings, it's to actually make people laugh," he added. "And even the people that… Our thing is, we try to make the people that we make fun of laugh the loudest. 'Cause flattery is the greatest form of mockery. I mean, mockery is the greatest form of flattery. And so, they've been trying to — the internet or whatever — trying to cancel us for 'White Chicks' forever, but you can't. You know why? You know who loves 'White Chicks' the most? White chicks. So we told the joke the right way. And that's just how we do our family humor." Wayans was asked whether any politicians could have had a second career as stand-up comics. "I'm pretty sure there are… I don't know which one right now," he answered. "They're all a bunch of clowns and jokes to me. Just like watching a circus. I don't know what's happening. But you know who would be a really good standup comedian? I think Barack Obama would have been a great standup comedian. Like, he's funny. He's witty, he's charming, he's likable. And he, when he does his speeches, he takes his digs and they're funny. And you know it's like off the top. I think Obama's a funny dude." Obama and his former presidential opponent Mitt Romney were praised for their stellar comedic timing at the Al Smith dinner in 2012. A couple of the more memorable jokes from Obama included him poking fun at his middle name, Hussein, and his poor performance in his first debate against Romney, while also throwing in some jabs about Romney's wealth. "Trump's a different kind of comedian," Wayans said. "I think Trump is funny, and he doesn't even know he is. He just says crazy stuff. He's like somebody's crazy grandpa who just sits on a porch spitting out insanity, and you're going, 'Grandpa's crazy, but that one thing he said was kind of funny.'" Obama, Romney Joke At Al Smith Dinner In New York Wayans said he and his brothers always laugh off-camera together, too. "Oh, absolutely," he said. "We all, you know, take pride in making each other laugh and, you know, if there's a joke out there, all of us kick it around and try to find the best joke. And we're not trying to one up each other. It just happens. You just start riffing on a joke. Humor is, it's like a band, right? When someone starts playing, you know, a certain instrument in a certain key and you kind of jump in and start with the drums and then somebody else jumps in with the bass, and before you know it, you got this beautiful song. And that's how it is hanging out with my brothers and my sisters." Wayans is currently on his national Wild Child tour. He also has a comedy special, "Good Grief," currently streaming on Amazon article source: Marlon Wayans weighs in on controversial Tony Hinchcliffe joke, which politician could be a comic
Fox News
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Marlon Wayans weighs in on controversial Tony Hinchcliffe joke, which politician could be a comic
EXCLUSIVE: Marlon Wayans encouraged his fellow comedians to keep making those off-color jokes in a recent interview with Fox News Digital. Americans' funny bones seem to have stopped working in recent years amid a rise in cultural sensitivities. But Wayans said he's never let a changing culture affect him and not once has he watered down his humor. And he said he's not one to judge when other comics tell edgy jokes. One quip in particular caused a weeks-long controversy in the lead up to the 2024 presidential election. Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe spoke at a rally for President Donald Trump and joked that Puerto Rico was a "floating island of garbage." "There's always going to be different sides of me, but I'm always going to be like 85% comedian," Wayans told Fox News Digital. "And I think comedians have every right to poke fun at everything. Now, if you'd have told that joke maybe a different way, Puerto Ricans may have found it funny. But I'm pretty sure there's some Puerto Ricans that found it funny. It depends on how dark your humor is. And I think you have to have the courage to go, 'Hey, this is funny. Tony roasts for a living.'" "I'm not gonna cancel any comedian for a joke," Wayans added. "Even if it was a Black joke. You know, hopefully you told the joke that makes Black people laugh. You know, Don Rickles did some of the most edgy, racist humor, but man was he funny. And I'm always gonna subscribe to comedy." Wayans said it's a comedian's job to push buttons and boundaries. "I know Tony and you know I've watched him perform at The Comedy Store," Wayans continued. "Tony's a funny dude, and I think, look, we gotta push the envelope. We gotta push buttons. We have to be able to make people feel uncomfortable. We're trying to make people laugh at themselves. We're not trying to hurt your feelings… but sometimes there's casualties in war." "Finding jokes is war," he explained. "And sometimes you step on land mines, and that's okay. Next joke. And every joke you tell is going to be like that. But you can't be – you gotta be fearless. You gotta just walk through that landmine. Some is going to blow up in your face. You know, I'm pretty sure some people enjoyed it. And then the majority of it, maybe they didn't. But, next joke." Bill Maher also defended Hinchcliffe's joke when he had the comedian on his "Club Random" podcast last week. "There's no doubt it's insulting to Puerto Ricans, but I have been over the same territory," Maher said. "I mean, I don't think I would do exactly that joke, but I certainly have done many that have been objected to.""My thing was always, you know what? Everybody has to accept, in the framework of comedy, insults… you know, and they're never fair," he added. Wayans was one of the stars of "In Living Color," an "SNL"-like satire show that ran from 1990-1994, with his siblings Keenan Ivory Wayans, Damon Wayans, Shaun Wayans, and sister Kim Wayans. Eventual megastars like Jamie Foxx and Jim Carrey also served as cast members. "'In Living Color' was like my alma mater," Wayans fondly recalled. "It's like where I came up, it's my graduating class. I was the freshman and I learned so much. And that type of humor is ingrained in my soul. That's our family humor. So we're always gonna bring that. Every time we bring a Wayans project, we're always gonna have that flavor. That's just who we are. We're equal opportunity offenders, no holds barred. And we have fun, and we go dark, but with kids' gloves." That's true of his filmography too, Wayans said, referencing his 2004 movie "White Chicks," in which he and brother Shawn play two FBI agents who disguise themselves as White women in order to bait a kidnapper. Some have suggested the movie could never be made today. "The whole purpose is not to hurt feelings, it's to actually make people laugh," he added. "And even the people that… Our thing is, we try to make the people that we make fun of laugh the loudest. 'Cause flattery is the greatest form of mockery. I mean, mockery is the greatest form of flattery. And so, they've been trying to — the internet or whatever — trying to cancel us for 'White Chicks' forever, but you can't. You know why? You know who loves 'White Chicks' the most? White chicks. So we told the joke the right way. And that's just how we do our family humor." Wayans was asked whether any politicians could have had a second career as stand-up comics. "I'm pretty sure there are… I don't know which one right now," he answered. "They're all a bunch of clowns and jokes to me. Just like watching a circus. I don't know what's happening. But you know who would be a really good standup comedian? I think Barack Obama would have been a great standup comedian. Like, he's funny. He's witty, he's charming, he's likable. And he, when he does his speeches, he takes his digs and they're funny. And you know it's like off the top. I think Obama's a funny dude." Obama and his former presidential opponent Mitt Romney were praised for their stellar comedic timing at the Al Smith dinner in 2012. A couple of the more memorable jokes from Obama included him poking fun at his middle name, Hussein, and his poor performance in his first debate against Romney, while also throwing in some jabs about Romney's wealth. "Trump's a different kind of comedian," Wayans said. "I think Trump is funny, and he doesn't even know he is. He just says crazy stuff. He's like somebody's crazy grandpa who just sits on a porch spitting out insanity, and you're going, 'Grandpa's crazy, but that one thing he said was kind of funny.'" Wayans said he and his brothers always laugh off-camera together, too. "Oh, absolutely," he said. "We all, you know, take pride in making each other laugh and, you know, if there's a joke out there, all of us kick it around and try to find the best joke. And we're not trying to one up each other. It just happens. You just start riffing on a joke. Humor is, it's like a band, right? When someone starts playing, you know, a certain instrument in a certain key and you kind of jump in and start with the drums and then somebody else jumps in with the bass, and before you know it, you got this beautiful song. And that's how it is hanging out with my brothers and my sisters." Wayans is currently on his national Wild Child tour. He also has a comedy special, "Good Grief," currently streaming on Amazon Prime.
New York Post
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
YouTube releases list of most popular podcasts— here's where Joe Rogan, Theo Von and Megyn Kelly rank
YouTube launched a new weekly chart of the most-watched podcasts on its platform as the Alphabet-owned company ramps up competition with Spotify and Apple in the rapidly evolving audio market. 'The Joe Rogan Experience' topped the debut of the Weekly Top Podcast Shows Chart, which ranks US podcasts based on total watch time, followed by 'Kill Tony' and 'Rotten Mango.' 6 YouTube launched a new weekly chart to highlight the most-watched podcasts on its platform. SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images Advertisement 'Kill Tony' is a live comedy podcast hosted by Tony Hinchcliffe. In October, Hinchcliffe faced significant backlash after making controversial remarks at a Donald Trump rally at Madison Square Garden during which he referred to Puerto Rico as a 'floating island of garbage.' Other notable podcasts on the chart include '48 Hours,' a true crime series by CBS News (No. 4), retired football great Shannon Sharpe's 'Club Shay Shay' (No. 7), 'This Past Weekend' starring former MTV 'Road Rules' personality Theo Von (No. 8), and conservative Sirius/XM host Megyn Kelly (No. 19). YouTube's new ranking feature is expected to offer podcasters increased visibility and help viewers find trending content, mirroring tools already offered by competing platforms. Advertisement 6 The Alphabet-owned video giant announced Thursday that it will debut a Weekly Top Podcast Shows Chart, ranking US podcasts every Wednesday based on total watch time. YouTube According to Edison Research, YouTube has already surpassed Spotify and Apple Podcasts as the top platform where Americans consume podcasts. The company says podcasts generate more than one billion monthly active views on the platform. 6 Joe Rogan's 'Joe Rogan Experience' ranked as the No. 1 podcast on YouTube's chart. AP Advertisement 'YouTube just isn't a place where you drop your content from other sources,' Ben Meiselas, co-founder of the progressive political show 'The MeidasTouch Podcast,' told CNBC. 'We want to focus on making YouTube a channel the way people watch cable news.' 6 'Kill Tony' is a live comedy podcast hosted by Tony Hinchcliffe, who faced significant backlash after making controversial remarks at a Donald Trump rally at Madison Square Garden last year. Getty Images for SXSW Meiselas, whose podcast came in at No. 5 on the chart, emphasized the platform's economic advantage, noting that YouTube provides better cost-per-mile (CPM) rates — advertising lingo for cost per thousand impressions — than its competitors. Advertisement 6 Theo Von, the comedian and former star of the 'Road Rules' series on MTV, is host of the eighth most popular podcast on YouTube. TheoVon/YouTube The rise of video podcasts has been one of the defining themes of the 2025 media Upfronts, as platforms compete for advertisers seeking high-engagement formats. 6 Former Fox News host Megyn Kelly ranks 19th on the list. Getty Images for TIME Spotify has expanded its own video podcast offerings. The Swedish-based streamer reported over 100 million dollars in global payouts to podcasters in the first quarter of this year. Nonetheless, YouTube remains the dominant player in terms of creator revenue and audience scale.
New York Times
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Which Podcasts Rule YouTube? A New List Comes With Surprises.
You may remember Tony Hinchcliffe as the stand-up comedian who, last fall, maligned the island of Puerto Rico in an inflammatory set during a rally in New York for the Trump presidential campaign. Despite the criticism for those comments, Mr. Hinchcliffe landed a Netflix deal in March for three specials based on his long-running live comedy podcast, 'Kill Tony.' That show is ranked modestly at No. 51 on Spotify and No. 178 on Apple Podcasts' top charts, which track the most popular podcasts in the United States based on a combination of various factors: streams, downloads, subscribers and other mystery metrics. Yet a new chart, released Thursday, offers new hints about Mr. Hinchcliffe's mass appeal. For the first time, YouTube has published its ranking of top podcasts in the United States, offering a fresh perspective on a sprawling landscape. There, 'Kill Tony' is ranked No. 2, just below the reigning king of podcasts, Joe Rogan. Another major difference from the Spotify and Apple charts: Many popular and well-established podcasts did not make YouTube's top 100 ranking, which is based on overall watch time. Among the missing: 'Call Her Daddy,' 'Crime Junkie,' 'SmartLess,' 'The Daily' and 'New Heights,' all frequently in the Top 10 of various quarterly or annual lists. There were familiar names on YouTube's list, including MeidasTouch, Shannon Sharpe and Theo Von in the Top 10. But when compared with the existing charts, YouTube's version sometimes seems like a fun house mirror. While the hit podcast 'Dateline NBC,' for example, was absent — it does not regularly upload episodes to YouTube — the CBS true crime newsmagazine '48 Hours' appeared at No. 4. Despite its roots in video, YouTube has come to dominate podcasting. It is the preferred service for one-third of weekly podcast listeners in the United States, capturing more users than Spotify or Apple Podcasts, according to Edison Research. But that happened only in recent years, in conjunction with the growing popularity of video podcasts. 'They saw something other people didn't in video,' said Brett Meiselas, a founder of MeidasTouch, comparing YouTube against the other platforms, which are now trying to attract more video creators and viewers. Mr. Meiselas, who said the chart was 'a long time coming,' was pleased but not entirely surprised by his show's No. 5 spot: 'It means our work is getting out there.' As podcasts broadly continue to rise in influence — helping to sell products, find voters and spread hot-button ideas — YouTube's chart represents another tool for understanding who holds sway with American consumers. It is a way to 'help audiences and podcasters alike understand who is shaping that conversation,' said Brandon Feldman, the director of news, civics and podcast partnerships at YouTube. The chart can also serve as 'inspiration,' or 'a guide' to success for other podcasters looking to increase their audience size, he added. The ranking will be updated every Wednesday. Mr. Hinchcliffe's success, for example, embodies the 'cultural zeitgeist,' Mr. Feldman said: 'The audience is showing us what they're looking for.' (Anti-woke comedy is Mr. Hinchcliffe's specialty.) The chart also comes at a time when podcast platforms are inching toward some more transparency in their metrics. Spotify recently announced a feature that reveals how many times a podcast episode has been played. But historically, podcast platforms and producers have closely guarded their streaming and download numbers. YouTube is an exception, having published view counts long before it became a podcast destination. (It now claims to reach one billion podcast users per month.) The big shows missing from YouTube's chart could still join in the coming weeks. But for some podcasts, this may require a deeper investment in video — or, at the very least, ensuring their videos are correctly organized into YouTube playlists, which is critical to the ranking, Mr. Feldman said. Charts are imperfect measuring sticks, susceptible to manipulation, lacking in transparency and calibrated more as snapshots of current popularity rather than overall popularity. Mr. Rogan, for example, moves up and down the rankings, but no show has ever come close to drawing his total audience. (Hosts who have managed to unseat his position on the charts include Kylie Kelce, who does not appear on YouTube's Top 100 list, and Mel Robbins, who is ranked at No. 76.) But platforms benefit when new names rise to the top, said Melissa Kiesche, senior vice president of Edison Research, which has built its own list of podcast rankings based on surveys. 'They don't want to see Joe Rogan at No. 1 every single week forever,' she said. Discovery drives more listening hours. Sometimes that discovery applies to household names, too. YouTube's Top 50 included podcasts from legacy television brands such as 'NBC Nightly News,' '60 Minutes' and 'Late Night With Seth Meyers.' Mr. Feldman characterized the chart, where Gen Z social media stars sit alongside cable figures who rose to prominence in the 1990s, like Nancy Grace or Tucker Carlson, as a 'good testament to how those worlds can coexist and hopefully thrive together.'
Fox News
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Bill Maher praises pro-Trump comedian for Puerto Rico joke that set off liberal uproar
Bill Maher complimented comedian Tony Hinchcliffe for the viral Puerto Rico joke he made at an October 2024 rally for then-presidential candidate Donald Trump that infuriated some politicians and the media. During the Trump rally in New York City's Madison Square Garden, Hinchcliffe said, "I don't know if you guys know this, but there's literally a floating island of garbage in the… ocean right now." Hinchcliffe said. "I think it's called Puerto Rico." Hinchcliffe was a recent guest on Maher's Club Random podcast, where Maher said the comedian made a "great joke." Hinchcliffe explained the story behind the joke that set the media ablaze. He said he went to the rally to discuss free speech and make "those kinds of jokes." "That Puerto Rico joke was actually a joke that I had done a bunch in my standup, and it's part of a bigger joke with more front end and a longer back end," said Hinchcliffe. Hinchcliffe said, "Basically, at the end of the normal joke, I go, you, I'm talking about the problems in the world. And I go, and I don't know if you guys know this, but there's a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. Yeah, I think it's called Puerto Rico," Maher responded with laughter. "The point of the joke is that people picture, obviously, in my mind, obviously, the great Pacific garbage," Hinchcliffe said. "I can't believe nobody ever talks about the fact that there's an island of plastic as big as Texas." Maher said, "There's no doubt it's insulting to Puerto Ricans, but I have been over the same territory. I mean, I don't think I would do exactly that joke, but I certainly have done many that have been objected to." Maher defended Hinchcliffe, saying, "My thing was always, you know what? Everybody has to accept, in the framework of comedy, insults… you know, and they're never fair." Hinchcliffe explained his thought process going into the rally. "When I was going in to do that, that rally, the goal, you know? It wasn't just to swing a few, you know, thousand votes, hopefully, of whatever, whoever listens to my podcast or whoever liked my silly performance on the Tom Brady roast or whatever. It was also to f---ing have the president go, "That was cool. Thanks, man. That's awesome. I liked your set. You got the crowd going." Which, by the way, I did. Of course, that room isn't mic'd for the comedy show." Maher asked if Trump responded to him that way and Hinchcliffe responded, "No, he didn't, I didn't get to talk to him." Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., who noted that her family is from Puerto Rico, took issue with the comedian's joke. "That's just what they think about you. It's what they think about anyone who makes less money than them. It's what they think about the people who serve them food in a restaurant. It's what they think about the people who, who fold their clothes in a store," the New York Democrat said at the time. Republicans also took issue with the joke. Former Rep. Anthony D'Esposito, a Republican from New York, posted, "I'm proud to be Puerto Rican. My mom was born and raised in Puerto Rico. It's a beautiful island with a rich culture and an integral part of the USA. The only thing that's 'garbage' was a bad comedy set. Stay on message." "This is not a joke. It's completely classless & in poor taste," Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., a Cuban American, added online. "Puerto Rico is the crown jewel of the Caribbean & home to many of the most patriotic Americans I know. Tony Hinchcliffe clearly isn't funny & definitely doesn't reflect my values or those of the Republican Party." Following this, Trump said, "I have no idea who he is. Somebody said there was a comedian that joked about Puerto Rico or something. And I have no idea who it was. Never saw him. Never heard of him, and don't want to hear of him. But I have no idea," Trump told "Hannity" in October. The Trump campaign also swiftly distanced itself from the joke. "This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign," Trump campaign senior adviser Danielle Alvarez noted in a statement, according to reports. Hinchcliffe and the Trump campaign were criticized by many in the media for the joke and there were concerns that this would affect Trump's election chances and support within the Hispanic community. According to national exit polls, Trump received 45% support from Hispanic voters, an increase from 2020, when he received 32%.
