movies
The Best Of Kevin Hart’s Netflix Roast: Katt Williams, Teyana Taylor
Despite the “batch of bullshit” that was on the dais, according to The Plastic Cup Boyz member and longtime Kevin Hart writer Na’im Lynn, the stars were out this Mother’s Day — on and off the stage — at the Kia Forum for Netflix‘s Roast of Kevin Hart.
Led by “extremely white host” Shane Gillis, attendees in the audience included Tracee Ellis Ross, Eric André, John Stamos, Seth Green, Jennifer Lopez, Hasan Minhaj, MGK, Lamar Odom, Yvonne Orji and, naturally, streamer co-CEO Ted Sarandos.
Gillis kicked off the evening in Inglewood by thanking Netflix for “choosing me to host this celebration of Black excellence” before Usher, backed by The Roots, introduced the show with a performance of “Caught Up,” eventually transitioning to a musical roast of Hart.
“Good luck, you gon’ need it, buddy,” he said, as Hart — who had earlier walked out on stage to shimmering pyrotechnics — cursed him out, the beginnings of many expletive-laden outbursts from the comic as he gamely took the night’s punches.
Below, read about some of the highlights of the three-hour live event:
Tom Brady gets his lick back
As Hart promised a show that’s “way better than the Tom Brady roast” — mainly “because I’m not a bitch” — the seven-time Super Bowl champ strutted up the walkway behind him.
“Jesus, do you ever shut the fuck up?” Brady said, before bestowing upon him a “newborn-size” New York Knicks jersey and mentioning his 2017 Las Vegas cheating scandal.
The athlete wondered how the GOAT roast went “from me to you,” sizing up his seven rings against Hart’s two Ride Along credits.
“I guess it wouldn’t be a Kevin Hart project if it wasn’t a shitty sequel,” Brady said. As he looked around the dais, singling out Sheryl Underwood and Big Jay Oakerson, he continued, “Who the fuck are these people? I thought they shut down Spirit Airlines?”
Brady concluded by saying he was “too classy” to go after Hart’s wife, Eniko Parrish. “But am I? What’s up, girl?” he hollered, before adding, “Payback’s a bitch, and so are you.”
Jeff Ross pays homage to Eddie Murphy’s iconic Delirious red leather suit
The Roastmaster General kicked off a series of jokes that dunked on Hart — whom he called the “crack baby that could, preemie with a dream-y, putting the Elf in Philadelphia, Eddie Smurfy” — highlighting the unwillingness of his comedic role model to join in the night’s festivities.
“You’re like Martha Stewart but without the respect of the Black community,” he said, before launching into a hilarious recollection about how Hart’s remarks at the Brady roast spurred him to get a colonoscopy screening, detect his cancer and be able to make it to tonight’s event to “shit all over you.”
Chelsea Handler goes on a tear
After being subject to some been-there-done-that material about her sexual history, Handler had much to say about the guests on the dais, starting with host Gillis.
“Is that Druski in whiteface?” she questioned, before noting she thought she could be his mom “mostly because you look like you have fetal alcohol syndrome.” She continued that it was “ironic” he’s been accused of being anti-Asian (his past tweets got him fired from Saturday Night Live) “given he has the complexion and build of a steamed dumpling.”
“This is a real who’s who of statutory rapists,” she continued, looking around. “We’re just lucky none of you could afford an island.” She added later, “You helped sway the last election. You should be proud, boys.”
After alluding to some of the comics’ political affiliations, most obviously Tony Hinchcliffe — the Trump rally comedian who went viral for his disparaging “island of garbage” comments about Puerto Rico — Handler questioned if anyone would sign up for the draft for the Iran war, “or do you fucking pussies only go to the Middle East for comedy festivals?”
Singling out Hinchcliffe further, she said Tony is “what happens when women don’t have safe access to abortion care” and has “the face of a school shooter and the personality of someone who gets shot first.” Kicking off the first of many, many jokes about Hinchcliffe being closeted, she asked “who’s keeping Joe Rogan’s balls warm in their mouth” if he’s here tonight.
Handler wrapped up her set by saying she’s proud to be friends with Hart, someone who “respects women” and loves his wife.
Surprise appearances: Lizzo & Teyana Taylor
Lizzo was the first surprise guest of the night, playing on the flute as she “honored” Hart’s stand-ins and body doubles, which was comprised of a lineup of little people dressed in costumes from roles.
“Oh, this is live? OK, cool,” she said, as she got several minutes at the podium and couldn’t stop bursting out laughing. “Ain’t no Ozempic for being short and greasy,” she told Hart.
The second surprise appearance came from Teyana Taylor, who proceeded to read a letter of why she wouldn’t be able to make it tonight. She unfurled a ridiculously long page, noting she didn’t want to “throw off the balance of the dais” by adding a woman of her stature.
Pulling up a photo of the two of them at Halloween, featuring Hart dressed up as Murphy, she said, “You dressing up as an iconic, funny comedian is unbelievable. It’s disrespectful, it’s inappropriate — don’t ever do that again.”
Sheryl Underwood’s standing ovation
Underwood kicked off her set with a warning to Gillis, saying it was a good thing the comic stopped at saying the term combining “white” with the N-word: “‘Cause had you said anything that sound ‘bigger, trigger,’ or anything that sound like N—-, you wouldn’t have made it out of motherfucking Inglewood alive. You don’t know where the fuck you are. You will respect us in this house; this is the fucking Forum, built by the Showtime Lakers.”
“And I want to thank Netflix and Kevin Hart for bringing us all together. Freedom of speech is alive today. It shows that we can all come together and crack jokes on each other and still respect each other,” she continued.
Going back to Gillis, she said, “You want to hit this Black pussy harder than you hit the windows at the Capitol on January 6 … cause you’re tired of fucking your sister, so you want to fuck a real sister.”
Of Hart, she said of their previous hookup: “He got stuck in my pussy, I tied a rope around his neck and pulled him out like a tampon … Fucking Kevin is a lot like watching his movies, the first five movies are OK and then you’re just waiting for it to be over.”
Concluding, she said, “We only roast who we love, and we love you,” leading to a well-earned standing O.
Katt Williams & Kevin Hart quash their beef
Next up was Regina Hall, who did an extended bit pretending she was receiving communications from Hart’s late mom Nancy. On the list of warnings from beyond the veil was advice not to go to Vegas, as well as a note that she misses Hart’s movies as they don’t get screened up in heaven (though his late absentee father is enjoying them in hell). Hall’s commitment to a deadpan, bewildered delivery was topped only by her gift — introducing Katt Williams.
Williams, who has long been feuding with Hart, began his surprise set with a comment about how little star power was present on stage, forcing Hart to phone up his enemies.
“I won an Emmy, but this will be my best acting tonight,” he said, adding that tonight “is my Riyadh Comedy Festival.”
“You’re going to hear some things tonight … they’re called punchlines,” he told Hart. Backing up when he infamously called Hart an industry plant, he said it was because, “I keep burying him and he keeps springing back up.”
Addressing when Hart lost out on hosting the Oscars when a homophobic tweet of his surfaced saying he would break a dollhouse over his son’s head if he were gay, Williams said it was “arguably the gayest way to abuse a child.”
He continued, “They tried to cancel him for being homophobic, and I don’t get it. I’m saying the guy who’s obsessed with shopping sprees and fitness; always surrounded by 10 dudes, and Chelsea Handler, an oiled-up half-Samoan bodybuilder, a vegan restaurant and bought yoga pants. You think that guy is homophobic? That guy is a fairy, bitch. That’s the gayest man I’ve ever met. You slay, queen.”
Mentioning Hart’s attendance at a Sean Combs party, Williams maintained that doesn’t mean he did anything wrong. Rather “the fact that he gets all quiet when you bring it up — that means he did something wrong.”
After Williams got his cheers, Hart made a point to say he’s “a fan first.” While the two have been at odds, he suggested they “put our beef behind us” on live television, shaking hands and sharing a hug.
(Later on in the night, during Hart’s rebuttal, the comic hit back at critics saying he can’t act, saying his truce with Williams was “some of the best fucking acting I’ve ever done in my career. I did not mean one word of what I said … Fuck Katt Williams.” Of his affiliations with P. Diddy, he said, “I went to one fucking party … Katt was at the same fucking party,” before taking shots at the comedian’s jail time and his physical altercation with a teenager. It was all in good fun though, as Hart concluded that Williams “showed the fuck out” and “I meant what the fuck I said: That beef is over.”)
Venus & Serena Williams introduce The Rock
Compton icons and star athletes Venus and Serena Williams surprised the audience next, saying they love Hart; “As you know, in tennis, love meanings nothing,” they delivered, before introducing The Rock, who aptly walked out to Queen’s “We Will Rock You.”
“Finally, daddy is home,” the wrestler-turned-actor said, coming up to the stage from the audience amid a laser show. He quickly dispelled rumors of being there to “carry another shitty Kevin Hart vehicle,” stating he was actually there to chew up his collaborator’s food for him.
Like Brady, he singled out Parrish for looking sexy, saying “she deserves an Academy Award for pretending she likes to fuck you.” Handler joined in on the joke, as Dwayne Johnson noted that he and his wife “will let you watch like we always do … in your cuck chair.”
After showing a picture of his father, Rocky Johnson, next to a less-than-flattering image of Hart’s, followed by the latter’s mugshot, his Jumanji co-star said, “Just like your dad, it’s wild how much you need the Rock.”
Taking their avowed bromance to a new level, Johnson tried to talk Hart into sitting on his knee as they toasted their drinks. While the audience cheered it on, Hart wouldn’t budge. The Rock then opened up his shirt, saying, “My titties ain’t sucking themselves,” as Hart vehemently protested. “Now you don’t want to do it on live television,” the Rock concluded.
Miscellaneous selection of jokes
Of how to best honor Hart, Gillis could think of no better way “than taking a paycheck and pretending we’re having fun.” And though Hart’s father wasn’t around because he was addicted to cocaine, at least that reasoning was “a lot more respectable than not being there for your kids because you’re filming fucking Jumanji 3.” Hart is a “once in a lifetime talent,” Gillis concluded, “unfortunately, that lifetime is ours.”
SNL alum Davidson took some jabs at Gillis, saying he looks like he “got CTE playing fantasy football.” Of being fired the Lorne Michaels late-nighter, he said, “Do you know how hard that is? I tried for eight years, and I couldn’t do it.” He had even harsher words for Hinchcliffe, saying, “Tony reminds him of Charlie Kirk, in that he’s definitely been on camera letting a guy unload on his throat. Kill Tony. Please, someone please fucking kill Tony. Tony, nothing you say tonight will hurt my feelings. I was in a beef with Kanye, so I’ve taken shots from better gay Nazis.” Of his and Hart’s shared history with the Riyadh Comedy Festival, he noted, “The difference is, Kevin went to Saudi Arabia for a day’s work, while I’ve been owed that money since I was seven.”
And finally, despite a truly distasteful George Floyd joke and several other eye-popping moments, including a fake-out where he pretended to almost say the N-word, Hinchcliffe’s “Kevin has so few Black friends that he started a vegan fast food chain and nobody stopped him. His vegan restaurant is like his movies, because you don’t have to go to know it fucking sucks” was solid.
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movies
‘One Night Only’ Director Understands “Sex Purge” Comparisons
While One Night Only is intended as a romantic-comedy, there are some obvious dystopian undertones that audiences can’t ignore.
Director Will Gluck recently addressed online comparisons between the Purge franchise and his new Universal rom-com, which is now in theaters, about two New Yorkers (Monica Barbaro and Callum Turner) who meet on the one night a year premarital sex is legal.
“I am very aware of the online discourse about this world and this movie being the ‘sex Purge,’ and rightfully so,” he told SlashFilm. “But I don’t want this movie to be about that. And I know I get some blowback going, ‘How could you make a movie about this not being about that?’ Because I love exploring characters and situations.
Gluck added, “Whenever us humans get put in situations, no matter how or why the situation happens, we still have to be humans and get through the day. And that’s what interests me. So we didn’t want it to overwhelm. We wanted to explain it. We didn’t want to take a side. We wanted to show both sides, but we wanted it to be about these two people going through this crazy night.”
With five movies and a TV series expanding on the universe since The Purge premiered in 2013, the Blumhouse franchise is set in an alternate reality where all crime, including murder, is legal one night a year for 12 hours.

In a similarly dystopian fascist universe, albeit with a much lighter mood, One Night Only follows recently dumped pizzeria owner Owen (Turner) and singer Allie (Barbaro) meet on the one night of the year premarital sex is legal under the United States’ “chastity mandate.”
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movies
HBO’s ‘Monsters Of God’ Chronicles Lizard People, Reptile Wranglers
HBO’s new documentary series Monsters of God abounds with colorful creatures – and those are just the humans.
The five-parter from Tiger King co-director Eric Goode features reptile dealers with a fondness for creepy crawlies and a loose connection to ethical and legal mores. There’s Tom Crutchfield, who loves women with the ardor of Pepé Le Pew but spends most of his time not in pursuit of the ladies but of exotic snakes, lizards, alligators, turtles and whatnot. His arch rival: Hank Molt (aptly named, given that snakes molt), a man who pioneered the shady trade of importing rare and often endangered reptiles to the United States (HBO calls it a “billion-dollar criminal enterprise.”).

Another key Monsters of God character: Anson Wong, a Malaysian “exporter” (to use a polite term) perhaps as cold-blooded as the creatures he rounds up and dispatches around the world. His nickname – “the Pablo Escobar of reptiles.”
The template for the series is supplied by the 2008 book The Lizard King: The True Crimes and Passions of the World’s Greatest Reptile Smugglers, written by Bryan Christy. The author, who appears in the series and serves as a consulting producer, took part in a panel discussion of Monsters of God Thursday night after HBO screened episode 1 at Vidiots in Los Angeles. He praised Goode and fellow producers for wrangling the reptilian importers, typically a wary group.

“I know what it took to run these people down, to get people to say ‘yes’ to you coming in their place,” Christy told the moderator, the actor Jason Segel. “And with a camera. I just had a pencil… It’s amazing what they brought together. And they’re celebrating the animals in a way that I hope gets people to care more about this sort of maligned species.”
Goode needed no persuading about the beauty of animals like New Caledonian geckos, African bush vipers, Caribbean rock iguanas, and similar Cyclura. He’s been an avid collector since childhood.

“I have a confession to make,” he said at the Q&A, alluding to his collecting urge. “I’ve been an addict for over 50 years and now I’m still not sober, sorry to say.”
The challenge of convincing reptile dealers to appear on camera became evident during the panel discussion, which included Crutchfield and Mike Van Nostrand, both Florida men who have served time behind bars for their activities (in 2022, Van Nostrand was convicted in a scheme to smuggle “illegally-harvested Florida turtles out of the United States and into China, Japan, and other places,” per the Department of Justice).
“I didn’t like the Tiger King,” Van Nostrand stated flatly. “Eric was a little tricky one.”
For his part, Crutchfield called Tiger King “one of the weirdest movies I’ve ever seen.”

Along with Tiger King, Goode also directed the 2024 HBO documentary series Chimp Crazy about people obsessed with raising chimpanzees as essentially human children. At the Q&A, he addressed contrasts between Tiger King, Chimp Crazy, and Monsters of God.
“Right now, a lot of people are thinking I’m trying to take down the reptile world,” Goode said of Monsters of God. “Yes, I didn’t like people keeping chimpanzees in Chimp Crazy. I wanted laws changed so you couldn’t do that. I didn’t want people having 200 tigers in their backyard [in Tiger King]. Reptiles are different. It’s nuanced. And as Mike [Van Nostrand] says, if people were breeding more reptiles that may take pressure off of the poachers. And so there’s a lot of gray in this story and it’s not painting anyone with one brush. Law enforcement made a lot of mistakes. We’ve made mistakes. The zoos made big mistakes and we’re all complicit.”

Zoos are complicit, the series makes clear, by paying dealers like Molt and Crutchfield to supply them with exotic reptiles knowing full well the wranglers were violating U.S. and international law. Federal officials with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service don’t seem to come off much better, to judge from episode 1. Nobody’s motives seem 100 percent pure in Monsters of God, self-assessments notwithstanding.
“What I really want people to get out of my complete performance from the very beginning to the end,” Crutchfield asserted at the Q&A, “is my great passion and my great love, and more importantly, my great respect for all of these monsters of God that you’re going to see.”
Van Nostrand chimed in sardonically, “Are you saying money had nothing to do with it?”
“So far,” Crutchfield replied.
Fresh episodes of Monsters of God will debut on HBO the next four Thursdays, and stream on HBO Max. Audiences may get hooked, mirroring the obsessional quality of true lizard people. Jason Segel, for one, pronounced himself a fan of the series.
“At times it feels like Goodfellas. It feels like Scarface sometimes,” Segel enthused at the Q&A. “I watched every episode over two days and was mesmerized. I can’t wait for all of you guys to see it.”
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movies
Rachel Reid Appears To Dismiss ‘Heated Rivalry’ Season 2 Casting Backlash
As Heated Rivalry hits the ice for another season with some new teammates, there’s bound to be some opinions about the casting choices for the book series’ beloved characters.
Following the news that Justice Smith and Charlie Gillespie have been cast in Season 2, author Rachel Reid appeared to respond to negative online reactions to the news that the actors will portray Harris Drover and Troy Barrett, respectively, the couple from Role Model, the fifth book in her bestselling Game Changer series.
“Thinking about all the people last summer who told me the casting for llya and Shane was wrong and bad…” wrote Reid on her Instagram Story with a side-eye selfie.
Based on the second book in the series, Season 1 of Heated Rivalry became an overnight hit largely due to Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams’ steamy performances as Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander, launching the actors’ profiles in Hollywood as well.
On Friday, Deadline reported that Smith and Gillespie have been cast as leads in Season 2 of the Crave Original, which is set to premiere in spring 2027. Production began on the sophomore season in Canada earlier this week.

In the Role Model book, Troy Barrett is a hockey player on Ilya’s team with a history of bullying, while Harris Drover is the team’s cheerful social media manager.
“Rachel Reid has given us two beautifully layered characters in Harris and Troy who you can’t help but root for,” said series creator Jacob Tierney and fellow executive producer Brendan Brady. “From the start of the casting process, we knew we were looking for actors who could create something truly special together and bring that same depth and heart to the screen. Justice and Charlie do exactly that. They immediately connected with the vulnerability and resilience at the core of these characters, bringing an instinctive understanding of who Harris and Troy are.”
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