Netflix cut a joke about Lizzo that roast writers say never should have been axed, and now people want to hear it

Netflix recently left a string of brutal jokes on the cutting room floor during The Roast of Kevin Hart, and now fans are getting a rare peek at what didn’t make the final edit. Comedy writer Madison Sinclair, hired for the project, shared some of the gags that were pulled before broadcast, shedding light on just how sharp the writers’ room was operating. As detailed by LADbible and Variety, the cuts ranged from jokes about Lizzo’s weight loss to lines about the MeToo movement and Hart’s 2017 cheating scandal.

The roast featured a massive roster of talent, including Pete Davidson, Chelsea Handler, Regina Hall, Draymond Green, Tony Hinchcliffe, and Sheryl Underwood. The event also packed in surprise guests like Tom Brady, Usher, Teyana Taylor, Dwayne Johnson, Katt Williams, and Venus and Serena Williams. Whether the jokes were pulled for time or due to the sheer intensity of the material, they offer a vivid look at what the writing staff was aiming for.

The most talked-about cut targeted Lizzo. The joke read, “Lizzo broke barriers when she danced as a stripper in Hustlers, mostly because they weren’t properly enforced,” a reference to her 2019 appearance in the film. Lizzo didn’t appear bothered. She showed up on stage during the event, playing her flute while surrounded by a group of men dressed as Kevin Hart, and posted afterward: “Last night was too fun! Thank you to Netflix and Kevin Hart for having me, s/o to my krew of Kevins.”

The cut material reveals just how far the writers were willing to go

Another axed joke took direct aim at Hart and the MeToo movement: “Kevin is one of the few comedians without a single allegation. When he found out about the MeToo movement he was shocked. He was like, people are saying no to things?!” It is exactly the kind of dark, near-the-knuckle humor roast fans tend to respond to, though it is easy to see why Netflix opted for caution on that particular topic.

The Riyadh Comedy Festival also became a target. One cut line read, “Kevin, I was so disappointed when you did the Riyadh Comedy Festival because on a human-rights level no one should be forced to listen to your comedy sober.” That performance had already generated controversy, and the writers were clearly prepared to lean into it. Amid a broader wave of entertainment stories drawing public attention to Netflix’s programming decisions, the platform has faced increased scrutiny over editorial calls on high-profile productions, much like its ongoing multibillion-dollar battle over Warner Bros.

Tom Brady brought his own moment to the stage, walking out to interrupt Hart and deliver a pointed set. “Jesus, do you ever shut the f— up? All right, this won’t take long, because, as you guys know, I’m a busy man. But I do have a few words for you before I return to my affairs in Las Vegas. Oh, wait, I’m talking about affairs in Las Vegas. Was that off? Not supposed to talk about affairs in Vegas? I think I broke another rule. F— it. I talked about it.” The NFL legend’s appearance was widely regarded as a high point of the event.

The shot was a direct reference to the 2017 scandal in which footage of Hart cheating with a model in Las Vegas surfaced publicly. Hart’s wife, Eniko, was present in the audience. Hart had previously issued a public apology for the incident, but the roast format is built precisely to drag those old stories back out into the open. SNL has similarly used the format to make real headlines, as seen when Aziz Ansari finally played Kash Patel in a cold open that fans had been requesting for months.

From digs at Draymond Green’s shooting accuracy to jabs at Tony Hinchcliffe’s relevance, the writing staff clearly produced far more material than ever made it to screen. For every polished joke in the final broadcast, there was evidently a much longer list of cuts that were considered too long, too sharp, or simply a poor fit for the flow of the night.