The Roast of Justin Beiber….or the Grammy’s?

BY ALEX KEZEK

The anticipated Comedy Central Roast of Justin Bieber aired Monday night and reached 4.4 million total viewers. As expected, the roast drew attention on social media. #BieberRoast was the trending topic worldwide.

Bieber is the youngest star to be roasted on the network. For a celebrity that is criticized for his antics, he was willing and excited to be roasted in public.

The pre-show of the roast was nothing less but extravagant, reminding of a Grammy’s ceremony more than a celebrity roast. Purple carpet, paparazzi, countdown to Bieber’s arrival, and screaming dedicated fans. Roast host, comedian Kevin Hart, introduced him as he descended on the stage with angel wings on his shoulders.

Videos of Bieber’s transition from young 13-year-old aspiring artist to out of control drunken oft-arrested mess was only the beginning. Kevin Hart and the rest of the roasters had similar topics on harsh jokes to say to each other and to Justin. Pete Davis, Jeff Ross, Shaquille O’Neal, Martha Stewart, Snoop Dogg, Natasha Leggero, Hannibal Buress, Chris D’elia, and Ludacris were the dais of the televised event.

The scripted jokes continued as Bieber seemed to be a good sport about the nasty jokes against him. The jokes were typically about his former relationship with Selena Gomez, his possible relationship with Kendall Jenner, how he tries to act out as a gangster, his numerous arrests, abandonment of his beloved monkey named Mally, and how he is too rich to care. Kendall Jenner had a front view of the event, so she was bound to some ridicule.

Jeff Ross jokingly stated, “What dating website did you meet on? Ok Stupid?” Some of the best quotes of the night, according to Rolling Stone Magazine were said by Hart, “He’s got a perfume called Girlfriend. That’s not gangster Justin!” And Shaquille O’Neal, “Last year you (Bieber) were ranked the fifth most hated person of all time. Kim Jong-Un didn’t even score that low and he uses your music to f***** torture people.”

The celebrities launched jokes against each other, as well, such as Ludacris being a has-been rapper, Martha Stewart and her prison sentence, Jeff Ross not being a legitimate comedian, and so on.

Bieber fired back jokes as it was his turn for redemption, such as “What do you get when you give a teenager $200 million? A bunch of has-beens calling you a lesbian for two hours.” Ending his roast, he showed a genuine side of himself by asking for forgiveness and stating that he is thankful to be in show business.

At the end he was reunited with Mally, the monkey he abandoned at a zoo in Germany, a good publicity stunt for the rest of his Beliebers.