‘I apologize to absolutely nobody’: Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe blasted for Puerto Rico joke again defense his set
Tony Hinchcliffe, the controversial comedian who faced backlash for calling Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage” during a Donald Trump rally, remains unapologetic about his ill-received joke.
“I apologize to absolutely nobody,” Hinchcliffe said to thunderous applause at the top of his live podcast and comedy show Kill Tony on Monday.
“Not to the Puerto Ricans. Not to the whites. Not to the Blacks. Not to the Palestinians. Not to the Jews,” he added.
It is the second time Hinchcliffe has publicly doubled down on making the joke at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally in October. The comedian, known for insult comedy and dark humor, joked that Puerto Rico was “literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean.”
Critics accused Hinchcliffe of being racist but the comedian insisted it was just part of his set and that people cherry-picked the joke.
During his live podcast, Hinchcliffe reminded his audience that the joke is based on a fact. For years, Puerto Rico has been trying to tackle a landfill problem. The Biden administration directed more than $3 billion to help clean up a landfill.
“I guess I’m the only person who knew about this, unfortunately,” Hinchcliffe joked.
Though it may be based in truth, multiple lawmakers and political analysts scolded Hinchcliffe for making the joke at the high-profile Trump rally. Some hypothesized it could cause enough damage to hurt Trump’s chances of winning over Puerto Rican voters.
Even Trump’s campaign distanced themselves from the comedian after the joke landed flat.
But the 2024 presidential election results indicate the joke had little impact on Trump’s overall performance as he swept votes in all seven battleground states.
“I just want to say that I’ve been to – I love Puerto Ricans, they’re very smart people, they’re smart, they’re street smart, and they’re smart enough to know when they’re being used as political fodder,” Hinchcliffe said.
He admitted that “perhaps that venue” was not the best place to make jokes that push the envelope.
But still, Hinchcliffe said he would not, and will not, apologize.
“That’s what I do, I go hard and that’s never going to change,” he said.
