Tony Hinchcliffe: Six Crazy Facts About the Rising Comedy Monster

In his childhood, Tony Hinchcliffe experienced some hardcore bullying, which he describes more as fear-infused “thuggery.” A wrong look or a loose tongue could get him in trouble at any moment. To give you an example, the comedian shares that he got beat up on the first day of school during his first bus ride. However, Tony developed a coping mechanism: making fun of his opponents.

Hinchcliffe’s family dynamics were complicated. Around the time Goodfellas was released, Tony discovered that his dad had a whole other family with two kids and was also involved with the Italian mafia through his restaurant business. Despite that, Hinchcliffe is on very good terms with his dad now.

When Tony moved to L.A., he took every job possible to make enough money to stay active in the comedy scene. He worked as a bartender, waiter, door guy, and ghostwriter for meager pay. To cut costs, he even slept in his van parked near a comedy club.

​​Hinchcliffe faced controversy in May 2021 when he used a racial slur against fellow comedian Peng Dang during a gig in Austin. The incident, caught on video and widely shared on social media, led to his talent agency, WME, dropping him and the cancellation of several upcoming shows.

However, Hinchcliffe has never apologized for the 2021 incident, sticking to his “never apologize” rule. In October 2023, he doubled down on this stance during an appearance on the controversial YouTube show TRIGGERnometry, where he labeled Peng Dang a “Chinese spy” and claimed the backlash was an "orchestrated attack by the Chinese media.To sum up his philosophy, the comedian once said, “An apology is just an admission ticket to more outrage.”

Despite his mellow, skinny guy looks, Tony is a big fan of wrestling and was on the wrestling team in school. He believes the discipline and rigor he got from it is what helped him in comedy. Indeed, doing a comedy show every single week, which coincides with constant touring, does require a whole lot of discipline and mental strength.

Tony is very open about his marijuana smoking routine and does not see it as an impediment to his career. “I don’t get paranoid when I’m high; I get more focused… or maybe that’s the paranoia working for me.”