Jeff Ross Doesn’t Apologize For Colorado, Aurora Jokes.
The big news from the Rosanne roast was the Tom Arnold guest appearance, the other thing that happened was Jeff Ross and his Aurora, Colorado killer jokes. Was it too soon? Ross didn’t and doesn’t care.
WHAT DID JEFF ROSS SAY ABOUT AURORA COLORADO?
The jokes were directed at Seth Rogan who has red hair similar to that of the alleged gunman. Ross seized the opportunity, as veteran comedians do, and began with the Aurora jokes,
“Seth, congratulations. This is actually a great night for you, You haven’t gotten this much attention since you shot all those people in Aurora. … I’m kidding. You are not like James Holmes. At least he did something in a movie theater that people remember!”
Wow! The crowd was stunned. The 600 guests in attendance paused and you could reportedly hear some gasps.
Ross told NBC news that he crossed the line, but that’s what a roast is supposed to do. He explained,
“Yes, I crossed a line, and that is what the roasts are about. That’s what Roseanne is about — unapologetic comedy. If I had held back, I would have done her a disservice.
Ross further defends his choice of humor by saying that he was exercising his first amendment rights of freedom of speech,
“I think that this particular roast — in these particular times we are in — it is important to exercise freedom of speech. Comedians are apologizing a lot. I am not saying that is right or wrong. But it scares me when I start second guessing myself. So I wanted to put it out there and remind people what America is about — and on some level, what the roasts are about.”
COMEDY CENTRAL WILL NOT AIR THE JOKES
The producers of the Roast said that they will not air those jokes when the Roast hits the air on Comedy Central. After all, they have sponsors that will be running ads during the roast and he worse thing for any sponsor would be accused of being insensitive to the Aurora tragedy.
Ross will have his own series on Comedy Central called “The burn” which will premiere the same week as the Roseanne’s roast. Ross describes his show as a place where comedians feel free,
“I really want my new show to be a safe haven for comedians, I feel like bad taste is not a crime. There should be a place in this country for comedians to say whatever comes to their heads.”
Comedy Central might want to contact the advertisers lined up for Ross’ new show. I think it’s safe to say, Ross’ will be pushing the envelope slightly.
Did you notice, Ross showed up with two guys dressed in bath towels and he dressed as Joe Paterno.
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