Tony Hinchcliffe refuses to apologize after calling Puerto Rico 'garbage' at Trump rally
Tony Hinchcliffe is offering no apologies.
The comedian, 40, opened the latest episode of his podcast and live show "Kill Tony" by addressing controversial comments he made at a rally for President-elect Donald Trump last month, where he joked that Puerto Rico is a "floating island of garbage" and made other racist remarks.
"I apologize to absolutely nobody," Hinchcliffe declared on the episode released Monday, eliciting cheers from his live audience.
The show was recorded the day after the Trump rally at Madison Square Garden, while Hinchcliffe was receiving backlash and Trump was facing criticism for inviting him to speak. Hinchcliffe said he loves Puerto Ricans, who are "smart enough to know when they're being used as political fodder."
He also insisted his punchline was simply a reference to the fact that Puerto Rico "currently has a landfill problem," and he suggested the joke was poorly received because "I'm the only person that knew about this, unfortunately."
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During his rally set, Hinchcliffe told the crowd of Trump supporters, "There's literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it's called Puerto Rico."
The remark drew widespread rebukes from politicians including Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, as well as celebrities like Aubrey Plaza and Jennifer Lopez. Plaza, who noted most of her family is from Puerto Rico, slammed the joke as "racist" and "disgusting" at the WSJ. Magazine's Innovator Awards.
"There are people for whom this is fine, it's just a bad joke, lighten up. For many of us, this 'joke' is a reminder of how bad it was under Trump, how he treated our people in our moment of need," Lin-Manuel Miranda also said on Instagram, referring to Trump's response to Hurricane Maria.
In a previous statement, senior Trump advisor Danielle Alvarez said, "This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign."
On "Kill Tony," Hinchcliffe said he was "currently under attack" and criticized "everybody trying to slander me online," adding, "That's what I do: I go hard, and that's never going to change."
But despite declining to apologize, he acknowledged the Trump rally may not have been "the best" place to do those jokes.
Hinchcliffe's rally set also included a racist joke about celebrating Halloween with a Black friend by carving watermelons, and he quipped that Travis Kelce "might be the next O.J. Simpson."
In addition to hosting "Kill Tony," Hinchcliffe has written for Comedy Central roasts and performed at Netflix's roast of Tom Brady earlier this year.
The comic previously responded to the Trump rally backlash by claiming on X that his Puerto Rico joke was "taken out of context to make it seem racist" and that because he's a comedian, he makes "fun of everyone."
Contributing: Taijuan Moorman and Josh Meyer
