Wanda Sykes passed on Kevin Hart’s roast, and after seeing the final product, she has no regrets.
On Vulture’s Good One podcast, she revealed that Hart, a friend, asked her to take part in Netflix’s The Roast of Kevin Hart before the special was announced.
“Kevin called me before it was announced, and I said, ‘No!’” Sykes said.
“He said, ‘Come on, Wanda. Come on, it’ll be good. It’ll be good for your special. You’ve got a special coming out,’” Sykes continued. “I was like, ‘Kevin, you know I love you, man.’”
Sykes said Hart knew roasts were not her lane but still suggested she could make a quick appearance.
She ultimately chose the WNBA over the roast, attending a Los Angeles Sparks game instead.
“I consumed enough to go, ‘Thank god,’” she said.
Sykes also criticized the writing, saying, “Just lazy, lazy writing,” and adding that recent roasts lean on “recycled” jokes about sex, race and sexuality.
Hart and several other comedians are still facing backlash over the roast, mainly because of Tony Hinchliffe’s distasteful George Floyd joke. Hart later defended the joke, but his fans were already over it, with some accusing the star of further selling out for fame.