LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Comedian Hans Kim has come under fire for making crude jokes about the terrible death of Matthew Perry, who drowned in his hot tub a few weeks ago.
Kim, 33, opened for fellow comedians Tony Hinchcliffe and Joe Rogan before making the offensive comments during a stand-up performance that he posted on his TikTok last week.
The stand-up comedian told the crowd in person: "Sad to hear that the great Matthew Perry died alone in a hot tub. You know, for a guy on a show called ‘Friends’, he could have used a couple."
"Who knew the opening credits were his cry for help?" the comedian added with a smirk on his face.
On October 28, Perry, 54, was discovered dead in the jacuzzi of his opulent Los Angeles home in the Pacific Palisades area.
The 'Friends' star appears to have drowned, but there was no evidence of fentanyl or meth in his blood. A complete toxicology analysis is still pending and the exact cause of death is yet to be revealed.
Several fans felt Hans Kim's jokes came too soon after Matthew Perry's death
The audience at Kim's live performance appeared to enjoy the crude humor, but there was disagreement in the social media comments section.
A number of fans took offense and said the joke came "too soon" after the actor's tragic death, with friends, family and fans are still grappling with the loss.
The video had over 286,000 views, more than five times as many as his platform following, per the New York Post.
One of the social media users took to X (formerly Twitter) to slam the comedian and wrote, "To quote the famous Jeff Ross “Too Soon”
A second one questioned, "Making jokes about a recently tragically deceased comedian? What made you think that was a good idea?"
"Disgusting. Don't post something like this then say rest in peace," wrote another enraged X user.
Another one explained, "This is a world that joked about ppl trapped in a sub near Titanic while they were still likely dying. Your joke while this man's family and friends are still mourning his very recent death doesn't come as a shock. Its more sad that there is such little respect nowadays though."
One more slammed and said, "You made a joke that everyone in the room laughed at as a comedian? find a new career!"
Others defended Hans Kim's wisecrack saying 'It’s never too soon'
Many who supported the joke pointed out that Perry, who was well-known for his self-deprecating humor, would have found the wisecrack amusing.
One such X user wrote, "There is no such thing as too soon...it's comedy. Well done sir."
A second one echoed a similar statement and wrote, "Matthew Perry is rolling in his grave… FROM LAUGHTER!" followed by laughing emoticons.
"Admiration. It’s never too soon," added a third one.
A fourth one chimed in, "Hans Kim is hilarious. I mean it was a funny joke and yes too soon. Idk what people expect at a comedy club."
Hans Kim earlier received severe backlash for mocking Israel amid Hamas' attack
Kim has played around with contentious material for his sets before.
He received a lot of criticism in October 2023 after he uploaded a video of a live performance on Instagram, mocking Israel in the wake of Hamas' shocking terror strike on October 7.
"In support of Israel, I’ve been going to restaurants and not tipping. It also doubles as support for Black Lives Matter," he said at the time.
He went on to refer to Israel's counteroffensive on Gaza, which is thought to have killed 11,000 Palestinians, as a "real Hala-ocaust."
