Much has been said today about some of the darker jokes from The Comedy Central Roast Of Charlie Sheen, particularly one made by Amy Schumer regarding deceased "Jackass" star Ryan Dunn. The bit, made at the expense of fellow roaster Steve-O, went as follows:
When Ryan Dunn died Steve-O probably was thinking it could've been him ... with the rest of the world wondering, ‘Why wasn't it?’
Dark? Yes. Inappropriate? Not really.
Many comedians argue that the words "offensive" or "inappropriate" have almost no place when it comes to the subject of a roast; to offer them as critiques is to miss the point entirely. One could question whether or not the general public is ready to handle how comedians talk to each other, but given the success of the Comedy Central Roasts, Paul Provenza's "The Green Room" and Marc Maron's "WTF Podcast," the answer is probably "mostly."
Having attended the Roast ourselves, we can report that the mood after Schumer's set was electric, with more than one person proclaiming it, "the set of the night." Clearly, the comedian did what she was supposed to do.
Blogger Devon Lohan backed that sentiment up by pointing out a joke Steve-O told during the taping that was cut for the broadcast:
The last time this many nobodies got roasted at least the band Great White was playing.
Meanwhile, Radar quotes Twitter user @StevieChanMan who came to Schumer's defense by citing a similar -- perhaps even more "too soon" -- joke Seth MacFarlane delivered in his opening monologue:
@SethMacFarlane w/ a Winehouse joke and all good.. @amyschumer does a Dunn joke and gets ridic heat? relax ya fuckin assholes its a ROAST!
So clearly, toeing the line was the order of the night. Ironically enough, it was Amy Schumer who told us on the red carpet what subject WAS actually off limits:
As is the case with any show like this, there were a plethora of jokes that didn't even make it to the taping, many of which were cut because they were deemed a little too rough, even by roast standards. Comedian and roast-writer Jesse Joyce tweeted a slew of one-liners that didn't make the cut, which you can see below. They're all hilarious, and some are much darker than what actually aired.
Charlie Sheen's Roast Rebuttal Speech: