Piers Morgan Uncensored went off the rails quickly on Thursday when comedian Dave Smith and pro-Trump pundit Adam Sosnick got in a shouting match over a joke Pete Davidson made about Charlie Kirk.

During Netflix’s The Roast of Kevin Hart, Davidson invoked the deceased Turning Point USA founder while making fun of guest Tony Hinchcliffe.

“Tony reminds me of Charlie Kirk in that he’s definitely been on camera letting a guy unload in his throat,” said Davidson.

Sosnick claimed that due to his own stint as a stand-up comedian and his ownership of a comedy club, he knew how to evaluate which comics were funny and which took cheap shots.

“I know funny,” he said. “But there’s also people who make their name in this career by not being that funny. Pete Davidson is one of them. Jimmy Kimmel is one of them. I’m not going to go there and say Dave Smith is one of them. That’s not what I’m going to do. But the reality is, Charlie Kirk was an absolute hero. And what’s happening with him, people are literally taking their proverbial shots at him.”

Host Piers Morgan pressed Sosnick on the point, asking him if he believed Davidson had “crossed a line” in his joke.

“I don’t think there’s any line you can cross. The market will speak. If Pete Davidson wants to start doing standup comedy shows again, and nobody shows up, let the market speak,” he said. “I believe in free market capitalism. I don’t believe in censorship. I don’t believe in cancel culture, even if you’re unfunny. If we were canceling unfunny people, there’s a lot of comedians that would have been cancelled years ago, Pete Davidson being one of them.”

Smith disagreed with Sosnick’s characterization of Davidson, claiming the joke was “hilarious” and arguing that outrage over the roast’s jokes showed the “hypocrisy” of those who were angry. Sosnick pushed back, leading to an argument that got personal fast.

Read their exchange below:

SMITH: It was hilarious. It was a great joke. I don’t even like understand entertaining this conversation of whether it crossed the line. And as you pointed out, Pierce, right, like it’s it just shows everybody’s hypocrisy immediately because like the people who are outraged about the George Floyd joke aren’t outraged about the Charlie Kirk joke and vice versa. It’s a roast. It’s edgy comedy. And if you don’t like it, then don’t watch it. It’s really that simple. And you know, I mean, look, I’m friends with Pete. I was friends with Pete when we were coming up in comedy together. And like again, Adam can have whatever opinion he wants on who he thinks is funny and who isn’t funny. The bottom line is that millions of people love Pete Davidson. And if he does go on a stand-up tour, he’ll be selling out giant theaters. So like, if you don’t like it, that’s fine. That was a hilarious joke.

MORGAN: He also does a lot of these roasts, and he regularly has awful jokes told about his father, who died on 9/11, and he laughs.

SOSNICK: That’s true. 9/11.

SMITH: But Pierce, but it’s all about, obviously, right with comedy, it’s all about the intention, right? Like, the intention of anyone doing comedy is to try to get everyone in the room to crack up laughing. That’s the goal. Pete does it– the goal when Pete tells that joke isn’t like to get people to walk out. It’s to kill with– to make it as edgy as possible and still hit you with a big punchline. And that’s it. That’s the natural– that’s the way comedy works. It’s a discussion between the comic and the audience. It doesn’t matter who’s not there.

SOSNICK: But, I’ll say that joke was– the reason that we’re having this discussion right now is because the joke was actually, in my opinion, Dave, you’re entitled to yours, not funny. It was completely offensive. Gay Tony Hinchcliffe, sexual reference to the throat

SMITH: But Adam, couldn’t you acknowledge, like, and I’m not trying to take a shot at you here.

SOSNICK: That’s fine. Go ahead.

SMITH: You failed out of stand-up comedy, and Pete Davidson became a multi-millionaire famous success from it. So, maybe you’re not in a position to determine whether it’s good comedy or not.

SOSNICK: No, the fact that I owned a comedy club and I hired hundreds of comedians gives me the credibility to say–

SMITH: Oh my god. There’s no one–

SOSNICK: –I know what’s funny and not funny–

SMITH: There is no opinion–

SOSNICK: Because I’ve seen people–

SMITH: There is no opinion–

SOSNICK: –who sell out crowds.

SMITH: Let me just tell you this.

SOSNICK: Dave, listen–

SMITH: As a stand-up comic–

SOSNICK: Listen, let me speak, Dave. Let me speak. You just spoke.

SMITH: No one opinion–

SOSNICK: Relax, Dave. Let me at least speak. Okay, I’m just– are you going to let me speak or not?

SMITH: I’m pretty relaxed.

MORGAN: You started so well, you two

SOSNICK: Okay, that’s fine. The reality is this. The reason we’re doing this show right now is because it really wasn’t that funny. What’s the funniest joke Pete Davidson has ever said, other than that joke? Dave Smith, comedian.

SMITH: I know a ton of Pete Davidson jokes, dude.

SOSNICK: Exactly.

SMITH: I did stand up with him.

SOSNICK: He’s never told a funny joke.

MORGAN: All right, let me bring in Emily.

SMITH: What?

MORGAN: Emily Wilson. Emily, welcome back to–

SMITH: Adam, you really are like one of the dumbest people who talks for a living.

Watch above via Piers Morgan Uncensored.

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