The numbers aren’t yet for how many people have watched the NSFW hilarity from The Roast of Tom Brady, but the special already seems destined to be among the most-watched ever, with millions of viewers witnessing the NFL vet’s occasional discomfort amidst all the jokes aimed at him, his family, and his former football colleagues. One of the night’s barb-hurling highlights, stand-up kween Nikki Glaser, has since offered her take on the moment where Tom Brady sincerely got offended, as well as the former quarterback revealing it was a harsher experience than he’d anticipated.
Glaser, who has long been honing her self-deprecating insult comedy skills amidst her other talents, appeared on TODAY opposite Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager to discuss her experience at the first live streaming roast, and what her takeaways regarding Brady’s own reactions to the endless line of slams.
Nikki Glaser On Tom Brady's Reaction To Robert Kraft Joke
The big night started off with emcee Kevin Hart going off on a monologue tear for which he expected to "lose the relationship" with Brady, which was followed by Roast Master Jeff Ross taking the stage wearing a hell-blazing O.J. Simpson jersey. But it wasn't any of his jokes about players that sparked a momentary bit of ire from Brady, but a gag aimed at New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft having previously faced charges (that were dismissed) of soliciting prostitution at a Floriday spa in 2019. Ross' line caused Brady get up and call the comedian out to his face, telling him not to "say that shit" again.
The moment startled audience both at home and in the Forum itself, and it wasn't immediately clear whether or not Brady was joking, considering Ross' in-stride reaction to the complaint. Even Nikki Glaser was a little fooled by it, despite having allegedly been instructed beforehand that jokes about Kraft were off-limits for the roasters. Here's how she put it, adding that Brady's impulsive reaction to that joke was indicative of the whole, and how unprepared he may have been.
I thought it was maybe a joke or they had choreographed it beforehand, but it certainly wasn’t. I got a sense that maybe it was a little more than he had planned for… he hadn’t planned how to react, because you’ve kind of got to practice, like, what am I going to do?
Indeed, the moment almost felt like it was a staged interaction with the purpose of warning other comedians not to bring Kraft into their material. But roaster Andrew Schultz revealed on his podcast Flagrant that all of the acts that night were told not to make jokes about Robert Kraft's "happy endings," and he believes Brady calling out Ross was 100% genuine.
Nikki Glaser On Tom Brady's Comments About Family Backlash
Following the airing of the roast, Tom Brady shared some of his regrets about taking part, saying that he'd never do another one. (Because other celebrities agree to second roasts all the time, amirite?) He explained his reasoning by saying he hadn't fully considered the way his chldren would react after seeing their father sit through three hours of verbal abuse, good-natured though it may have been. The fact that quite a few of the jokes were about Bridget Moynihan and Gisele Bündchen just make that side of it more awkward.
Glaser said she can see how that explanation could be true, but also threw some doubt onto the idea that Tom Brady went into a live global event without doing any homework. As she put it:
I feel like maybe he didn’t consider the backlash from his family and how it would affect them, and I do understand that. But I also think Tom Brady does not do anything without doing his research and knowing what he’s getting into. But then there’s a part of me that thinks that Tom Brady, especially given his career and how much people love him, no one has ever said a bad thing to him in the past 30 years.
That last point is definitely an interesting one to consider, since there's likely a certain amount of truth to it. For all that Tom Brady has no doubt seen lots of awful comments thrown in his direction on social media, it's wholly different to hear cleverly crafted truth bombs lobbed at him in person from people he presumably likes and admires. Getting trolled by fellow players on the football field is not the same as having one's failed marriage picked apart with hundreds of eyeballs on him.
That said, I'm not exactly sure how one can perfectly prepare for such a singular event. Possibly by just painting a giant Joker-esque smile on one's face.
As far as Gisele Bündchen's reactions to the Roast went, she was reportedly in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, helping those who were affected by the recent flooding. It's said that she was disappointed to then learn that her life was being ridiculed on the special. As well, she was also said to be concerned about how her children felt after seeing it and the online aftermath.
Don't expect to see Tom Brady on any more Roast stages, even if the NFL will be a boon to those with Netflix subscriptions thanks to its new deal to stream Christmas Day games. But considering how big of a hit it's been, we'll hopefully hear about the next planned event sooner than later.
