By Sophia Albertie
Usually people keep these things private, but sometimes what’s meant to be private becomes center stage. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a tragedy. Maybe it’s a regret, or something super embarrassing. Maybe it’s a physical insecurity, or someone’s awkward dating history. This is called roasting.
Not the roasting kind that involves making fun of your friends shoes on the back of a school bus, but proper sit down roasts. These are a subtle art form where one person — also known as the host — is subject to a humiliation ritual in front of an audience.
The Comedy Central roasts are insane to watch. Celebrities and public figures involved get to be their rawest, raunchiest selves. Whether it’s Martha Stewart giving unsolicited advice from her days spent in prison, or Hulk Hogan making crude comments on Pamela Anderson’s sex life. For anyone delving in without context, the whole thing seems like a car crash you can’t look away from. Reputations born and broken all in a single night.
But this concept has been around for ages. Before Comedy Central was popular, there were the Dean Martin celebrity roasts, which aired from 1974 to 1984. Hosts included Lucille Ball, Frank Sinatra, Ronald Reagan and Truman Capote.
Travel even further back and you’ll find the simple, classic whole-animal roast. Where the host in question is placed on a spit and turned slowly over a roaring fire until fully cooked. This seems to be the lasting prerogative of this tradition, in one way or another.
The main difference between a classic animal roast and what you see today comes down to one unspoken disclaimer: Know your limits. The person who decides to be the central focus of the night always comes prepared with some form of a list detailing the topics that are absolutely forbidden from being discussed.
Knowing this, the perpetrators remain vulgar and offensive, coming close but never directly touching the hot red button of true cruelty. There are boundaries established behind every gritty insult.
So no, roasting isn’t the same as cornering someone for their lunch money or spamming the comment section of some innocent person on the internet. This method of comedy is still comedy, despite its vulgar attack style.
The threadlike line does not get crossed in a noticeable way because everyone in the room acknowledges that things might take a turn at any point.
So what happens when comedians decide to bring that energy to something or someone unsuspecting? What are the consequences of carrying that same edge to an awards ceremony, for example, or going in on hecklers at a show?
With the influx of cancel culture and more inclusive ways of thinking in today’s society, taking a step further as a comic to point out someone in the crowd proves to be disastrous. But still, there seems to be a delicate balance between what’s allowed and what will get you slapped. Think of the infamous Will Smith and Chris Rock incident.
What a comedian says to a room of people from their intended audience, and what they say on a public platform, which expands far beyond the echochamber of self proclaimed “thick skinned” individuals.
The bottom line is if a public figure wants to let it all hang loose in the name of laughter, it always comes at a price — it takes a skilled comedian to recognize the limits of their act.
