Shane Gillis hit back at Chelsea Handler after she criticized her and fellow comedian Tony Henchcliffe’s “racist” and “awful” jokes in response to Kevin Hart’s recent roast, further escalating their feud.
“This is a big moment for Chelsea. I’m glad she’s being used. Good for her. We’re all rooting for her. Anyway, come see us at the football stadium in Philadelphia on July 17th,” Gillis, 38, told Page Six in a seemingly cheeky statement shared through his representative.
Handler slammed Gillis and Henchcliffe as “sexists” during an appearance on the podcast “Deon Cole’s Funny Knowing You” on Wednesday, labeling them “racists” and “bigots.”
She also referenced Gillis’ joke about Hart’s height during a roast earlier this month, in which Gillis said the 46-year-old Hart was so short he “would have to lynch him out of a bonsai tree.”
“I don’t think that joke is funny,” she said. “Lynching a black person is no joke.”
“This is worse than rape,” she added.
The host of “The Chelsea Handler Show” insisted that Hart deserves “high praise” and that comedians can “try hard without being mean.”
“I thought it was going to be a terrible atmosphere because there was so much hate,” she said.
Gillis, who hosted Hurt’s Roast, also introduced Handler, ruffling comments that referenced her appearance at a 2010 event hosted by the late convicted criminal Jeffrey Epstein.
He even targeted her political stance, calling her a “Zionist” and a “huge fan of abortion.”
Hinchcliffe’s joke about the death of Sheryl Underwood’s late husband, Michael Sparkman (who died by suicide in 1990), also left a bad impression on Handler.
However, Underwood defended Hinchcliffe’s wise words on an episode of “The Secrets of Matt and Shane Podcast” that aired the same day.
“Sometimes humor is important,” Underwood said.
Handler previously addressed his attendance at Epstein’s controversial party in a 2021 interview with Rob Lowe, claiming the dinner was “awkward” and that he “didn’t know” who the disgraced investor was at the time.
