At The Roast of Tom Brady (which can be streamed by Netflix subscribers), a number of notable celebrities gathered at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles to honor the titular NFL veteran. A wide range of stars were recruited to take shots at Brady like Jeff Ross, Drew Beldsoe and Kevin Hart, who all went hard. Comedian Nikki Glaser was also present, and some of her comedic gems were among the highlights of Brady’s roast. She’s since discussed the experience of taking part in the highly promoted event and, now, she’s sharing some very honest thoughts on a set given by another attendee: Ben Affleck.
The Oscar winner was welcomed on stage later in the night and, during his set, he made a few jokes at Tom Brady’s expense. However, he also went on something of a rant about those who take to social media to criticize celebrities like himself and the seven-time Super Bowl winner. Subsequently, a number of viewers took to social media to share reactions – many of which were less than positive. Nikki Glaser was also not all that happy with Ben Affleck’s material. During an interview, she confirmed that she’d yet to rewatch it for herself, because she doesn’t “like to watch people bomb.” She then proceeded to give her take on what went wrong, in her eyes:
I know what happened. He didn’t prepare. He’s someone who’s famous enough that thinks like, this is probably beneath them to do this and so I’m just gonna do a favor. It’s not gonna be that big of a deal. I’ve had the same kind of things, and then you do it and you’re like, ‘Oh, this is way bigger than I thought it would be. I was kinda phoning it in.’ He had a pitch to the writers, probably, like, ‘You know what? Maybe I do an angle of like I’m mad about tweets.’ … And he locked into a premise that he had to do the whole thing. Everyone else has joke, joke, joke. So, if you’re joke bombs, you’re onto the next one. That’s what he should’ve done.
The FBoy Island host didn’t mince words when discussing the matter during her recent appearance on KFC Radio (which was shared to YouTube). She also had the following to say about how the Air director’s set:
There were so many jokes that didn’t get used that could’ve filled up an entire set of his that would’ve been amazing. But either, they couldn’t get him on the phone enough to work out something, he didn’t practice enough or he just picked a bad premise and then he had to stick to it the whole time. And it didn’t work right away, so it’s not gonna work later. We gave him the benefit of the doubt, because he’s Ben Affleck.
As mentioned, a number of people were left scratching their heads after the Argo star finished saying his piece. During the set, he called out any fans who enjoy "talking shit" behind their "fucking keyboard[s]," before declaring "that doesn't make you a fan, that makes you a bitch." He also said:
Just try to think of a less rewarding or agonizing professional experience than effectively working for somebody, you go out and fucking kill it, succeed every day to the degree -- at that fucking level -- and then you have to go online and read that shit. I can't think of a more fucked up, dysfunctional, horrible working system designed to perpetually make people feel awful.
Nikki Glaser has been making the rounds, press-wise, since the roast aired, speaking on a myriad of topics, from Tom Brady’s regrets over it to the fact that some jokes went unused altogether. When it comes to her analysis of Ben Affleck’s material, Glaser seems to be leaning on her years of experience in comedy. One can only speculate, right now, as to whether Affleck might respond to her directly or just provide some general context on his set of jokes.
If you’ve yet to see The Roast of Tom Brady but still want to, stream it on Netflix now. Also, look over the 2024 TV schedule for information on other comedy-based fare.
