The Roast of Justin Bieber premiered on Comedy Central on Monday night, March 30, and it proved to be worth the hype from its intense advertising. The comedic roasters consisted of the hilarious Kevin Hart as Roast Master, Hannibal Buress, Chris D’Elia, Natasha Leggero, Jeff Ross, Pete Davidson, and a surprise visit from Will Ferrell dressed as Ron Burgundy from Anchorman. Other roasters included rappers Snoop Dogg and Ludacris, athlete Shaquille O’Neal, and oddly enough, Martha Stewart sat amongst the other famous faces.
Hart began the show with the perfect quote: “Tonight we are gonna do what parents and the legal system should have done a long time ago—give the boy an a**-whoopin’ he deserves.” Hart and Shaq managed to entertain the audience throughout with their friendly back-and-forth banter, as well as their drastic difference in heights.
Bieber’s entrance was both overdone and a bit frightening: a choir sang while a winged Bieber, wearing an all-blue suit and slicked-back blonde hair, was lowered down and abruptly dropped on the stage, as if to let the audience know Bieber can take a hit.
With that flashy entrance, the roasting began and no subject was off limits. Hart made multiple cracks about his failed relationship with pop singer Selena Gomez while other roasters commented on his multiple run-ins with the law. Jokes were fairly dark at times between a couple ISIS jokes made by Chris D’Elia and a 9/11 joke from Pete Davidson, but the roasters brought the laughs for the most part.
Hannibal Buress was among the noteworthy comedians with his blatantly honest humor. He explained that he has no outside friendship with Bieber and was simply there because it was a good opportunity for him. Buress was also quoted on the podium saying, “I don’t like your music. I think it’s bad.”
Will Ferrell’s attendance as Burgundy surprised the audience during the roast. Though Hart and Ferrell’s appearance together may have very well been a publicity stunt for their new movie “Get Hard,” Ferrell still did what he does best and stole the show.
Burgundy showed up drinking a scotch and smoking a cigarette, which he quickly flicked at Bieber upon arriving at the podium. His monologue then consisted of telling the audience to be more like Bieber while describing all of the ridiculous things he had done over the past year or so.
Martha Stewart showed that she can take the heat as well as dish out some jokes of her own that night. While the others joked mostly about her age and just being released from prison, she came back with harsh and extremely R-rated insults. She finished her monologue with a series of advice for Bieber when he inevitably ends up in prison.
Roaster and Bieber’s favorite comedian Chris D’Elia as well as rapper Ludacris were among the less-enjoyed roasters of the evening, but others managed to keep the laughter going. Leggero and Ross are no strangers to Comedy Central roasts, and it showed in their performances. Shaq showed his humorous side with a series of well-written jokes spoken in his classic monotone voice, and Snoop Dogg proved that his jokes are just as smooth as his lyrics.
Bieber took the stage to end the show and dished out some harsh payback. He managed to hit everyone with the clever quote, “What do you get when you give a teenager $200 million? A bunch of has-beens calling you a lesbian for two hours.” He later ended the show with a very sincere-sounding speech in which he apologized to his fans and the general public for his actions over the past couple years.
Kevin Callan is a third-year student majoring in liberal studies with minors in journalism and music. He can be reached at KC765919@wcupa.edu.