Tony Hinchcliffe
After a May 2021 set which he opened with insult jokes containing a racist slur, directed against the Asian-American comedian who had preceded him, he was dropped by his agent and lost a number of engagements. Hinchcliffe is currently signed with United Talent Agency.
Early life
Born in Youngstown, Ohio, Hinchcliffe was raised by his single mother in the city's north side. Hinchcliffe attended Ursuline High School, graduating in 2002 where he was on the wrestling team.
Hinchcliffe told the Free Times of Columbia, South Carolina that he grew up in a tough neighborhood and that he first developed roasting as a defense mechanism. In an interview with Cleveland.com he said that his insults also got him punched in the face on the school bus on his first day of school. On an episode of Ryan Sickler's Honeydew podcast, Hinchcliffe revealed that his father was married to a woman other than his mother, and that his birth was kept secret from her. At the same time Hinchcliffe was unaware of his father's other family until adolescence, thinking instead that his father just travelled a lot for work.
Career
In 2007, Hinchcliffe moved to Los Angeles in order to pursue a career in comedy. He started performing stand-up at open mics at The Comedy Store in West Hollywood, California. He was hired to work the phones and the cover booth, eventually becoming a paid regular at the venue. He also started opening for comedians Joe Rogan and Jeff Ross on tour.
Hinchcliffe became known at The Comedy Store for insulting other comics and audience members during shows. He is also known for broaching uncomfortable and sensitive topics during his stand-up sets. Hinchcliffe's style of roasting and dark sense of humor appealed to fellow comedian Jeff Ross, also known as the "Roastmaster General" of the television series Comedy Central Roast. Hinchcliffe refers to Ross as his "mentor" and he helped get Hinchcliffe his first writing jobs.
Hinchcliffe has written for the Comedy Central Roasts of James Franco, Justin Bieber and Rob Lowe. Hinchcliffe's contributions to the series include writing Martha Stewart's set for the Justin Bieber roast and Ann Coulter's set for the Rob Lowe roast. Hinchcliffe has also written for the comedy panel show The Burn with Jeff Ross and appeared as a contestant on the first season of Jeff Ross Presents Roast Battle.
Since 2013, Hinchcliffe has produced and hosted a podcast called Kill Tony, a weekly live show recorded at The Comedy Store. During the show Hinchcliffe and co-host Brian Redban (of The Joe Rogan Experience and the Deathsquad Network), along with a changing panel of comedians and other celebrities, act as judges for amateur comedians. The contestants enter their names into a bucket and are selected at random throughout the show. Each selected contestant gets to perform a one-minute comedy set, followed by a discussion and critique by the panel of judges. The show aims to give young comedians a chance to showcase their talent and build their professional reputation. It sets no limits on topics the contestants can present, allowing for potentially offensive or politically incorrect performances.
Hinchcliffe's first one-hour stand-up special titled One Shot premiered on Netflix in 2016. His special was so named because it was shot in one camera take with no edits.
In 2017, he headlined the Monster Energy Outbreak Tour where he toured 20 American cities in 22 days.
In September 2020, Hinchcliffe announced that he would be relocating to Austin, Texas to join Joe Rogan and Brian Redban. The podcast, Kill Tony, previously filmed at The Comedy Store, relocated to the historic Antone's Nightclub in downtown Austin, Texas. The show relocated to Vulcan Gas Company on 6th street in May 2021. As of 2023 the show is hosted at Joe Rogan's Austin based comedy club, The Comedy Mothership.
During a stand-up set in May 2021, Hinchcliffe was videotaped insulting Peng Dang, an Asian American comedian who had introduced Hinchcliffe after performing the previous set at Vulcan Gas Company in Austin. Hinchcliffe said Dang was a "filthy little fucking chink", followed with a series of Asian stereotypes in a mock Chinese accent, and lashed out at audience members who laughed at Dang's jokes, branding them as "race traitors". The video was later shown on Twitter, went viral and received criticism. As a result, Hinchcliffe was dropped by his agency WME, removed from shows scheduled with Joe Rogan in Austin, and the Austin nightclub Antones announced that it would no longer be involved with Hinchcliffe or his Kill Tony live show. Vulture reported that during his set, Hinchcliffe stated that Chinese people came to Austin because of the bats and criticized offended audience members for "believing he was serious". Dang stated he did not receive any apology from Hinchcliffe following the incident. In an interview with Variety, Hinchcliffe stated that the line was a joke and he did nothing wrong. He said that he believed comedians should never apologise for a joke and simply continue with their work, which was the approach he took after the incident. Variety also reported that in a October 2023 episode of the podcast Triggernometry, Hinchcliffe claimed that Dang was a "Chinese spy" and the incident was an "an orchestrated attack by the Chinese media".
On New Year's Eve 2023, Kill Tony hosted its first live arena show at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park.
Comedy specials
| Year | Title | Distributor |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | One Shot | Netflix |
| 2020 | Making Friends | YouTube |