Comedian Peng Dang had the job of introducing fellow comedian Tony Hinchcliffe up onto the stage during a recent set in Austin, Texas.
But things went south amid the welcoming applause when Hinchcliffe opened his set by disparaging the very host who welcomed him to the stage.
Hinchcliffe—who is White—used a racial slur, called Dang a "filthy little f'king ch**k," and mocked him by talking in a stereotypical accent.
Coinciding with Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, Dang posted a video of Hinchcliffe's comments on Twitter.
Dang wrote in the caption:
"Last week in Austin, I got to bring up Tony Hinchcliffe. This is what he said. Happy Asian (AAPI) Heritage Month!"
Last week in Austin, I got to bring up Tony Hinchcliffe. This is what he said. Happy Asian (AAPI) Heritage Month!pic.twitter.com/9XG6upit2a— Peng Dang (@Peng Dang) 1620748885
The stand-up community was disgusted with the comic taking things too far with his blatant racism.
The clip Dang shared has so far amassed over 900K views on Twitter.
Writer and comedian Kath Barbadoro commented on the hypocrisy of the camaraderie among certain comedians.
"It's so funny that these type of guys always talk about the brotherhood of comedy and sh*t and then go up and sh*t all over somebody they're performing with?"
"Like the main problem is obviously the racism but talking about another comic like that is so f'king rude + hypocritical."
Kath is correct. A huge mistake I made coming up as a standup was thinking that there was any kind of honor system among Tony Hinchcliffe-type dudes that extended to people who weren't also straight white guys. It's not about protecting comedy, it's about protecting their own.https://twitter.com/kathbarbadoro/status/1392184175860592642\u00a0\u2026— Samantha Ruddy (@Samantha Ruddy) 1620758908
Comic Robin Tran wrote:
"Watch how sneaky some comedians are."
"They'll say I'm attacking other comedians by doing this, but it doesn't even occur to them that Tony Hinchcliffe was racist to ANOTHER COMEDIAN. But even the most woke people see "Asian" first and "comedian" second. Passive aggressive f'ks."
The backlash continued as others in the stand-up community weighed in on the humorless "bit."
Tony Hinchcliffe is teaching a Master Race Class on comedy— Jake Flores (@Jake Flores) 1620768138
White comics ask for more context about Tony Hinchcliffe\u2019s rant like it would be fine if afterwards he went \u201cNOT!\u201d— gianmarco (@gianmarco) 1620877256
that clip of Tony Hinchcliffe being racist has officially gotten more views than his Netflix special— Drew Landry (@Drew Landry) 1620769674
Tony Hinchcliffe bringing me up.pic.twitter.com/YJ1JbSPPJm— Chris Alan (@Chris Alan) 1620764294
This isn\u2019t funny.\nThis isn\u2019t stand-up.\n\nBIG kudos to @pengdangcomedy for posting this video. I\u2019ve been called wetback, spic, etc and I was always told to just take it. There are several circles in stand-up and you don\u2019t need all of them. It\u2019s a small world but a big field. https://twitter.com/pengdangcomedy/status/1392147842731499520\u00a0\u2026— Cristela Alonzo (@Cristela Alonzo) 1620782390
I really regret ever working with Tony Hinchcliffe. Peng is my friend and if you support this type of shit you\u2019re making comedy much worsehttps://twitter.com/pengdangcomedy/status/1392147842731499520\u00a0\u2026— Daniel Magden (@Daniel Magden) 1620756357
In the coming days people will decry the backlash against Tony Hinchcliffe being cruel to his MC Peng as "cancel culture." They'll say nobody can take a joke. There was no joke. No misdirection. No wink. Just anger he has to share the stage with someone who isn't a white guy.— Samantha Ruddy (@Samantha Ruddy) 1620765197
Oh no! Not my least favorite comedian Tony Hinchcliffe!— gianmarco (@gianmarco) 1620763017
Funny, \u201cpuking in a bucket\u201d was how most of us felt when we saw Tony\u2019s Netflix special— Erik Rivera (@Erik Rivera) 1620765405
the funniest thing about Tony is that he has to wake up and go to bed as Tony Hinchcliffe— Atsuko Okatsuka (@Atsuko Okatsuka) 1620764739
Hinchcliffe is the host of Kill Tony—a podcast that originated in Los Angeles and relocated to Austin where it films at the music venue, Antone's.
The podcast's premise involves guest comics participating in a minute-long open-mic session and being subjected to a subsequent roasting by Hinchliffe and co-host Brian Redban.
The hosts also become targets, and the exchanges are—according to the Daily Dot—notorious for their often "misogynistic, racist, and homophobic" content.
The owner of the Creek and the Cave, a comedy club in Austin, said in a Facebook post Hinchcliffe was no longer opening for fellow comic Joe Rogan at an upcoming show.
No specific reason was given for his canceled engagement.
Jane Rosenberg
Jane Rosenberg
@arianagrande/Instagram
@arianagrande/Instagram