‘I apologize to absolutely nobody’: Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe says media used Puerto Ricans as ‘political fodder’
Stand-up comedian Tony Hinchcliffe refused to apologize for jokes he made about Puerto Rico and many others in his routine at a Donald Trump rally.
Hinchcliffe, who made countless headlines after joking about Puerto Rico being an “island of garbage” at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally late last month, addressed the media outrage in a video posted on Monday.
An episode of Hinchcliffe’s incredibly popular podcast “Kill Tony” was filmed the night after his controversial pre-election appearance. The comedian prefaced it with comments about the backlash.
Hinchcliffe explained that the premise for his rally joke had a basis in reality.
“I don’t know if you guys know this. In my speech on free speech, I referenced Puerto Rico, which currently has a landfill problem in which all of their landfills are filled to the brim. I guess I’m the only person that knew about this, unfortunately.”
Hinchcliffe is right. Well before he made the remarks, environmental websites were bringing up the issue of the island’s landfill space, saying the country would soon be at capacity for garbage.
The latest piece came from the St. Kitts and Nevis Observer, which said that the comedian’s jokes aside, the island’s infrastructure is under considerable strain, as many of its landfills are over capacity.
‘That’s what I do. I go hard, and that’s never going to change.’
Hinchcliffe made it clear that his joke was indeed just a joke and added that he loves Puerto Ricans and believes them to be “very smart people.”
“They’re street-smart, and they’re smart enough to know when they’re being used as political fodder, and right now that is happening,” Hinchcliffe said at the time.
Taking a page out of UFC legend Conor McGregor’s book, Hinchcliffe added that he wanted to apologize to “nobody.”
“I apologize to absolutely nobody. 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,” the comedian said.
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Footage by Alex Wong/Getty Images
Hinchcliffe said he noticed there were no headlines regarding his jokes about his own mother but later admitted that maybe the presidential venue wasn’t the best place to deliver his material.
However, the 40-year-old said he doesn’t plan on easing up with his jokes.
“That’s what I do. I go hard, and that’s never going to change.”
After the fallout from the rally, several prominent personalities defended Trump and the jokes.
Armin Mizani, the mayor of Keller, Texas, who is Puerto Rican, referred to the ordeal as simply a “bad joke by a comedian” that shouldn’t overshadow what Trump could do for Americans.
Puerto Rican NFL player Jon Feliciano said, “The only Puerto Ricans that are mad about Tony Hinchcliffe’s joke, are mad because it helps push their agenda.”
Even left-wing Comedy Central host Jon Stewart defended Hinchcliffe, showing that comedy can be bipartisan.
“Obviously, in retrospect, having a roast comedian come to a political rally a week before Election Day and roasting a key demographic … probably not the best decision by the campaign politically, but to be fair, the guy’s just really doing what he does,” Stewart explained.
“I find that guy very funny. I’m sorry, I don’t know what to tell you,” he told his audience.
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