On Mar. 30, Comedy Central aired its annual “Comedy Central Roast”, taking the opportunity to crack some fun at singer Justin Bieber. It was a major success, especially among teens and 20-something’s. A few of the pop stars favorite celebrities were roasters, including throwback rappers Snoop Dogg and Ludacris, as well as retired NBA center Shaquille O’Neal. Comedian Kevin Hart was the “Roast Master,” leading the way.
The Roasts are famous for being hilariously inappropriate and racy. They are for a mature audience that is able to handle a joke. They have been criticized for being in bad-taste and more vulgar than funny. However, a lot of truly great comedians love the Roasts and have participated as roasters, roastees, or roast masters. Celebrities like Charlie Sheen, Pamela Anderson, Donald Trump, and David Hasselhoff have all been roastees. Comedians such as Seth MacFarlane, Lisa Lampenilli, Kathy Griffin, Katt Williams, Jimmy Kimmel, and Seth Rogen have all been roastmasters. Other comedians like Greg Giraldo, Carrot Top, and Jeff Foxworthy have been invited to burn fellow ‘celebs. There is always big names, and it’s always can’t miss T.V.
The “Roast of Bieber” also featured comedians Pete Davidson, Jeff Ross, Hannibal Buress, Chris D’Elia, and Natasha Leggero. Ross and Leggero are frequent roasters, appearing most recently on the “Roast of James Franco”. These two killed on stage, (as usual) making me laugh the hardest. They don’t hold back—targeting everyone, fair or not.
In the eyes of many TV personality Martha Stewart stole the show. Her sweet, grandmotherly persona made for a hilarious delivery of dirty jokes and harsh comments. She almost broke Twitter with her prison story about shanking O’Neal’s mother.
There were plenty of lines about Bieber’s ex-girlfriend, Selena Gomez, for everyone to laugh at as well. Bieber’s new rumored girlfriend Kendall Jenner seemed to enjoy them, considering she that was smiling every time they showed her off-screen. (Which the camera men annoyingly did about nine to ten times.) Of course, Bieber himself loved all of them, also taking a shot at Gomez towards the end.
Will Farrell made a surprise appearance as Ron Burgundy from the Anchorman movies, and liberated Bieber by sarcastically pointing out how innocent and misunderstood he is. He made comments like: “I’ve always encouraged people to stay classy, and what’s more classy than hanging out with Floyd Mayweather. Would I love to see ‘Biebs spending time with Oscar Pistorious? Of course I would, but that day will come.” Farrell’s appearance as Burgundy was the perfect way to wrap up the show and leave fans talking about it after. I certainly wasn’t planning on seeing a favorite movie character on the Roast.
However, the “Roast of Justin Bieber” was a major success not because of its jokes, but because of the major star power behind it. Bieber obviously has millions of fans that watched and supported him. It was not the best roast Comedy Central ever organized, but it certainly cracked me up. It entertained up until its final two minutes, when Bieber just had to get emotional and promise viewers that he’s going to turn his life around. Thank god for DVR.