Two Riverside County casinos are facing calls to cancel performances by stand-up comedian Tony Hinchcliffe after he called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage” and made racist jokes during Donald Trump’s Sunday, Oct. 27, rally in New York City.
Hinchcliffe is scheduled to perform at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino near Indio on Saturday, Nov. 16, and at Pechanga Resort Casino near Temecula on Friday, Dec. 6. Social media posts demanding those shows be canceled include contact information for the casinos’ box offices.
“I understand that jokes are often edgy and somewhat offensive, but this level of unbridled hate and intolerance specifically against immigrants of color is unacceptable and intended to divide us,” Temecula resident Gia Smith Rueda posted on Facebook.
“ … Please don’t allow Mr. Hinchcliffe to sully the ground of Pechanga with his racist performance.”
A Facebook post from Colin Wright, of Palm Springs, took Fantasy Springs to task “for not canceling this bastard’s show next month! Definitely never going there for a concert now.”
Representatives of Pechanga and Fantasy Springs could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday, Oct. 31.
Hinchcliffe, 40, hosts “Kill Tony,” a podcast featuring comedians doing one-minute sets. He’s also appeared in several Netflix specials, including 2024’s roast of retired NFL quarterback Tom Brady.
Hinchcliffe was among the speakers who warmed up thousands gathered at Madison Square Garden in what was billed as Trump’s closing argument ahead of the Tuesday, Nov. 5, presidential election.
Besides disparaging Puerto Rico, Hinchcliffe also made jokes at that event invoking racist stereotypes about Jews, Blacks and Latinos. He defended his jokes on X, formerly known as Twitter, after being criticized by Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz.
“These people have no sense of humor,” Hinchcliffe wrote. “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 added: “I love Puerto Rico and vacation there. I made fun of everyone … watch the whole set.”
It’s not the first time Hinchcliffe’s jokes landed him in hot water.
In 2021, his agency dropped him after he used a slur to describe an Asian-American comedian.
Hinchcliffe’s Puerto Rico insult led celebrities of Puerto Rican descent, including actor-singer Jennifer Lopez and musicians Bad Bunny and Ricky Martin, to share their support of Trump’s opponent for the White House, Vice President Kamala Harris.
Musician Nicky Jam, who grew up in Puerto Rico, cited Hinchcliffe in rescinding his Trump endorsement.
The controversy could cost Trump votes in what’s predicted to be a razor-close election. Almost 1 million Puerto Ricans, who are U.S. citizens, live in swing states, POLITICO reported.
Puerto Ricans make up 0.6% of Riverside County residents, census figures show.
