Comedian Naim Lynn is reigniting conversation about diversity behind the scenes of Netflix’s comedy roasts after making candid remarks during an appearance on The Breakfast Club on June 1.
While discussing Netflix’s roast of comedian and actor Kevin Hart, Lynn revealed that he was not part of the official writing staff despite initially expressing interest in contributing material.
Lynn explained that unlike his involvement with the roast of Tom Brady, he was not hired as a writer for Hart’s event.
“On this roast, no. I actually asked them if they wanted me to write because I had a Zoom call with the writer’s room,” Lynn said.
According to Lynn, the meeting quickly raised concerns for him when the writers began asking him questions about Hart’s life and career.
“I thought they were going to ask about my jokes. They were asking about Kev. They realized they didn’t really know shit about him. So I realized a couple minutes into the conversation, I’m like, ‘Oh, y’all need me.’”
Lynn said he later informed his agent that he had developed additional material that could be used during the roast.
“I got extra material. I wrote 15 minutes worth of stuff. If they want it, they can pay me and I’ll give it to them. Crickets.”
His comments come amid previous criticism surrounding the roast’s writing staff and offensive jokes towards black oeolle and particularly about George Floyd. Lynn referenced controversy sparked by comedian and writer Michael Che, who publicly questioned the diversity of the writers’ room.
“That Zoom call I had was 20 middle-aged white people. There was no Black people in there,” Lynn said. “I thought they were executives. They’re like, ‘No, this is the writers.’ I’m like, ‘Oh shit.’”
When asked about reports that numerous Black writers appeared in the roast’s credits, Lynn offered an explanation.
“Those were Kevin’s writers. If you came on the show as one of the people on the dais, then you were able to bring writers in with you. But as far as the Netflix writers, all white people.”
