A few Sundays ago, Comedy Central aired the long-awaited Roast of Charlie Sheen. And I, along with many other people with nothing else to do on a Sunday night, tuned in to the shit show we all knew it would turn out to be.
Now I suppose that forming an opinion before the show was unfair. But let’s be real. A guy that claims he is “winning,” has “tiger blood” and laughs about drug filled nights with porn stars is bound to be branded an attention seeking, self-destructive mess in the eyes of most people.
The roast began with three-time roast master Seth MacFarlane, the creator of Family Guy, cracking utterly predictable jokes about Sheen’s drug addiction, his love of prostitutes and his impending overdose, which sets the show up for more of the same jokes that do not stray far from his drug addiction or partying. Big surprise.
Following suit, fellow roasters Jeff Ross, Anthony Jesselnik and Jon Lovitz delivered forgettable jokes about drugs, sex and alcohol that seemed to condone Sheen’s chauvinism. Unsurprisingly, the jokes generated mediocre laughter from the crowd, which included Slash and Sheen’s newest love interest. (I would like to point out that after every joke about domestic abuse, the camera focused directly on her while she was laughing. What a disgrace.)
However, the most memorable and humorous moments of the night are accredited to Steve-O, Mike Tyson and rising comic Amy Shumer. Although they were unlikely roasters, they stole the show with jokes that (thankfully) produced genuine laugh out loud moments. When it was finally Steve-O’s turn, the Jackass star ran into Mike Tyson’s fist, attempting to get a black eye. Though he somewhat missed, after the show, he did it again and broke his nose. Awesome.
After Steve-O, Shumer took the stage and unexpectedly delivered jokes that some would argue went a little too far, such as apologizing for the death of Steve-O’s friend Ryan Dunn and how instead, it could have been Steve-O. She then asked the crowd “Why wasn’t it?” Low blow.
Some would argue that joking about Sheen’s erratic behavior is acceptable because that is the point of a Comedy Central roast. But I disagree. Why should we turn Sheen’s abusive and borderline stomach-churning behavior into a joke that the American public can laugh at, especially when it has become so self-destructive and embarrassing? As a fan of Comedy Central and their Roasts, I found Sheen’s roast particularly insulting.
And this is the crux of my point-the fact that Sheen has received so much hype in the last year because of infamously scandalous behavior is not a good enough reason to be roasted. The previous ten roastees, which included Bob Saget, Denis Leary and William Shatner, were not roasted because of recent downward spirals, but because of their achievements and failures that were more funny than insulting. Although Sheen is and always will be considered a “bad boy,” his achievements do not surmount to what is considered deserving of a roast when you stand back and look at the whole picture.
Alright, you all get the point. But I would like to think that we live in a society in which some things can still be considered inappropriate and offensive in the public eye. Except for when Steve-O broke his nose. Now that was hilarious.
You think it’s appropriate to laugh about a broken down, mentally ill man so desperate for money that he is willing to hurt himself publicly like an 18th century circus, but it’s inappropriate to make jokes about the death of people exactly like this? Ryan Dunn died because all you people kept laughing and paying to see these men seriously hurting themselves like idiots and pretending to have fun doing it… open your eyes these people were clearly desperate for money and since there was absolutely nothing else they could do because their fragile minds and violated integrity couldn’t give them a second chance to become respected on their own right, not just assholes covered in their own shit and vomit, these are human beings we’re talking about and people like you, who paid to see them be denigrated like animals got Ryan Dunn to think it was funny to drink while driving and take pictures and post them on twitter like it’s just another joke… it’s exactly what he had coming as well as all of the other jackasses especially Steve-O if you keep paying to see them act like freaking animals just for some lulz, yet you think it’s funny to see him do his “act” and break his nose for you to laugh?? what makes you any different than Amy Shumer? in truth you are much much worse… I bet you’re some of the people that think Dane Cook is real “comedy” because he’s a christfag, makes a lot of gestures and “politically correct” cliche stand-up and comedians like Anthony Jeselnik are not funny because he makes actually funny, short and intelligent jokes about taboo moral and social issues that get you butthurt because they offend you, what the hell you’re a hypocrite.