Who was Sheryl Underwood’s husband Michael—and why did the Kevin Hart roast ignite backlash?

Sheryl Underwood, the comedian and longtime The Talk co-host, was on the dais for Netflix’s The Roast of Kevin Hart in May 2026 (reported). Online chatter and tabloid coverage framed the night around how other comics treated her first husband’s death by suicide in 1990—material that split viewers between “roast norms” and “line crossed.” This article separates who Michael was in the public record, what happened in 1990, and what outlets quoted verbatim from the special.

Who Michael Sparkman was (in the public record)

Entertainment explainers and Hollywood roundups routinely name Underwood’s late first husband as Michael Sparkman and describe him as a chef (reported). People, in a 2018 piece tied to Kate Spade’s death, identified him as Michael, a chef, without using that surname in the quoted copy. Wikipedia’s biography of Underwood states she revealed on The Talk in 2011 that after seven years of dating and three years of marriage, her husband died by suicide and may have suffered from clinical depression (encyclopedia summary).

People’s reporting—drawing on her 2016 interview—said they married in 1987, that he struggled with crippling depression and an attempted overdose, and that he took his own life in August 1990 by jumping off of a building, three years into the marriage. People quoted her 2016 recollection this way: “I’ll never forget it,” she told PEOPLE in 2016. “I made him a German chocolate cake that morning, and I said, ‘Drop the bills in the mailbox and I’ll see you when you get home.’ It’s the most painful thing in the world because he is not coming back.” On The Talk in 2018 she said, in part: “I’m kind of emotional about this, because as you know my husband killed himself,” and “That pain does not — it doesn’t go away.”

Why the Kevin Hart roast “sparked a row”

Roasts trade in cruelty; the dispute here is whether jokes about a real 1990 suicide—not a fictional bit—were fair game. Page Six reported that at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California, on Sunday (the live roast window), Tony Hinchcliffe and host Shane Gillis aimed punchlines at that loss while cameras showed Underwood laughing in the audience; the piece also noted backlash posts on X calling the material harsh or in bad taste.

Verbatim lines (exactly as attributed by Page Six and Decider)

The lines below are quoted exactly as those outlets reproduced them. They include slurs, profanity (sometimes shortened in the original), and suicide references; we carry them because readers searching this story are often looking for documented wording, not endorsement.

From Page Six (May 11, 2026), quoting the roast: Hinchcliffe: “Her husband committed suicide 3 years into the marriage. I’ve been sitting next to her for 2 hours and I have to ask: how did he last that long?” Page Six also quoted Gillis: “Sheryl’s husband killed himself. Apparently, Black does crack if it’s married to Sheryl and jumps off a f–king roof,” and Gillis: “I do it from the balcony. I do it from the upper decks. F–k all these people down here.” Page Six further quoted Hinchcliffe on the Golden State Warriors logo: “The Golden State Warriors logo is a bridge. Don’t show that to Sheryl’s husband. Seriously, keep that bridge away from Sheryl’s husband.” It quoted Gillis’s follow-up bit including: “She was like, ‘You gonna make fun of my husband who fell off a bridge?’ I was like, ‘Yup,’” he said with a smile.

From Decider’s review (May 11, 2026), describing Underwood’s on-stage answer to Hinchcliffe: “My husband only died once. You die every night with those dumb wack ass jokes.” Decider added that she received a standing ovation and that Gillis ad-libbed praise (Decider’s text reads: “Keep it going for Bernice Mac.”—likely meaning Bernie Mac).

Aftermath in coverage

Page Six said it reached out to Underwood’s rep for comment. Decider’s critic argued Underwood and Pete Davidson came out of the long broadcast relatively well despite rough early segments. The broader lesson for news readers is procedural: verify quotes against the outlet you trust, distinguish on-stage comedy from biography, and remember that suicide loss is not a fictional premise for everyone in the room—even when a performer is laughing.

If you or someone you know is struggling, in the United States you can call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) or text HOME to 741741 (Crisis Text Line). Outside the U.S., seek local emergency numbers or helplines.