"Literally no one laughed"- Internet reacts to Russell Brand defending Tony Hinchcliffe after backlash over Puerto Rico joke at Trump rally

Tony Hinchcliffe was one of the speakers at Donald Trump's Madison Square Garden rally in New York on October 27, 2024. However, Hinchcliffe made headlines for a joke on Puerto Rico wherein he stated:

“I don’t know if you guys know this, but there’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico.”

Additionally, he also allegedly passed racist and lewd remarks on Black, Jewish, and Latino people. While netizens called him out for derogatory comments against a prominent territory and ethnicity, standup comedian and actor Russell Brand took to X (formerly Twitter) to defend Tony Hinchcliffe via a video with the tweet reading:

"Tony Hinchcliffe is under attack for making inappropriate jokes, but part of the function of comedy IS to make inappropriate jokes. Great comedians know this."

Internet users were quick to comment on Russell Brand defending Hinchcliffe and took to X to express their opinions, wherein one of the X users tweeted:

"Literally no one laughed. It wasn’t a ”joke” it was just a weird “rant” about Puerto Rico."

"Not at a campaign rally." an X user stated.

"A joke can be no more inherently offensive than it can be inherently funny." another X user mentioned.

Another user commented:

"Great comedians are also aware of setting and unintended consequences."

Moreover, some internet users also commented on incidents that caused Russell Brand backlash in the past:

"Jokes have to be funny Russell —> like remember when you threw a tantrum at the GQ event ?" an X user referred to the 2013 incident wherein Brand was allegedly thrown out of GQ Awards.

"I'm sure somewhere, someone is selling an amulet to protect you from inappropriate jokes." another X user mentioned Russell Brand's recent TikTok post advertising an amulet.

---

"These people have no sense of humor"- Tony Hinchcliffe responds to backlash on Puerto Rico comment

On October 28, 2024, Kamala Harris' running mate, Tim Walz, and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez reacted to Tony Hinchcliffe's video from Trump's Madison Square Garden rally via a Twitch stream. After listening to Hinchliffe's comment on Puerto Rico, Tim Walz asked:

“Who is that? Jackwad? Who is that guy?”

Walz then commented on the struggles Puerto Rico faced during the recent hurricane and mentioned that people in the territory are citizens and pay taxes and serve in the military "at almost a higher rate than anybody else.” Additionally, U.S. Rep. Ocasio-Cortez mentioned that Hinchliffe's comment was upsetting, especially since her family hails from Puerto Rico.

Responding to Tim Walz and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's comment on his joke, Tony Hinchcliffe mentioned in a tweet on the same day:

"These people have no sense of humor. Wild that a vice presidential candidate would take time out of his “busy schedule” to analyze a joke taken out of context to make it seem racist."

Hinchcliffe continued:

"I love Puerto Rico and vacation there. I made fun of everyone…watch the whole set. I’m a comedian Tim…might be time to change your tampon."

In Hinchcliffe's response to Tim Walz, "change your tampon" stems from former president Donald Trump referring to Walz as "Tampon Tim" on Truth Social during his debate with JD Vance on October 1, 2024. Walz gets the nickname from his 2023 decision to sign a Minnesota education bill that requires public schools to provide free menstruation products in their bathroom.

---

Prominent personalities like US congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar, The Daily Show host Jon Stewart, and others have expressed discontent with Tony Hinchcliffe's joke on Puerto Rico.

Additionally, according to The Hill, Danielle Alvarez, senior adviser of the Trump campaign, mentioned in a statement that Hinchcliffe's joke doesn't reflect the views of Donald Trump or his campaign.