NYDN: Roast Of Ortiz Was So Vulgar, NESN Can't Air It

joyofsox

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New York Daily News:

"Shockingly, a David Oritz roast that featured jokes about race, religion, weight, masturbation and the late Aaron Hernandez, has been deemed too vulgar and profane to air on NESN. ... The network was scheduled to air the roast, which raised money for the David Ortiz Children's Fund, over the weekend, but that idea has been scrapped."

The story says "plenty of footage has already leaked online". With any luck, the whole thing will be posted somewhere.
 
B

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I watched the Gronkowski and Pedroia segments this morning on Barstool. I couldn't believe there wasn't some immediate backlash for Gronk's remarks. His anti-Semitic joke, "Do you know why Jews play football? To get their quarter back, you cheap fuck!" was just stupid and childish. He had a couple really good lines about the Falcons and the Super Bowl but also told a black joke that was lazy, unfunny and cringe worthy. It was directed at actor Anthony Mackie, the only black person on the dais. He said (paraphrasing) his character in Captain American wasn't realistic because "Blacks can't fly unless they're being chased by the cops"

Pedroia swore every other word but he was actually kinda funny and I didn't hear anything offensive. Talked about Ortiz not knowing his first name for years and showed a video blow by blow account of Ortiz smashing the phone.

Sarah Tiana is one of my favorite comedians. She's like Amy Schumer...but actually funny. Tiana told two jokes that someone posted on Twitter that I can't find now. They went something like this...

1. "People say Gronk parties too much, but he's just having fun. After all, what's the worst thing a Patriots Tight End could do, anyway..."
2. "David Ortiz hit fourth for much of his career. That makes sense. Dominicans are good at clean up."

Insult comics like Tiana can get away with edgy, race stuff if their material is funny - especially in a roast setting. But Gronkowski came off as idiotic. It's not the end of the world but it's a bad look imo.

Edit - Added the Barstool link. Shows a more complete video of Gronk's set.
 
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Luis Taint

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I don't see what the issue would be. If your problem with Gronk's jokes are he has some lofty position is New England society, and he shouldn't be making jokes like that, well then I guess we probably differ on what his reputation is.

If your problem is the jokes, it's a fucking roast, with big boys and girls taking and giving each other shit. Joke telling, even by amateurs, is at it's best when when it is at its most cutting. Watch Jeff Ross go full on racist at the Emmitt Smith Roast, or towards Courtney Love at the Pamela Anderson one. Sarah Silverman is at her best when she is out and out offensive.
 
joe dokes

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Gronks quarter-back joke was different because I don't think it was directed at anyone there, either the roastee or another roaster, which is usually how roasts work. At least I didn't think so. He's not Jewish. Ortiz isn't. That's one reason his comment at Mackie or the cleanup joke is different.
That tight end crack is awesome.
 
smastroyin

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I watched the video and I'm only upset that Gronk, basically an unfunny fratboy, got to go on so long. The Quarter back joke was weird because there were no jewish people on stage, and he delivered it like it was such a corker he just couldn't not. Liked he developed a non-sequitur intro to it just so he could say it.

Ortiz and Mackie seemed to both like the cops joke.
 
findguapo

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Is there a video of the whole thing, or some of the other people? I wanted to see Bill Burr, but I can't find a video anywhere.
 
bibajesus

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smastroyin said:
I watched the video and I'm only upset that Gronk, basically an unfunny fratboy, got to go on so long. The Quarter back joke was weird because there were no jewish people on stage, and he delivered it like it was such a corker he just couldn't not. Liked he developed a non-sequitur intro to it just so he could say it.

Ortiz and Mackie seemed to both like the cops joke.
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Scott Wolf's brother, Josh, is a comedian who was supposed to be on the deus. I believe they are Jewish.
 
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B

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Luis Taint said:
I don't see what the issue would be. If your problem with Gronk's jokes are he has some lofty position is New England society, and he shouldn't be making jokes like that, well then I guess we probably differ on what his reputation is.
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Average Reds said:
If people are upset at what is being reported here, they might be unfamiliar with the whole concept of a roast.
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Philip Jeff Frye said:
Why is the black thing racist but the Dominican thing is okay?
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I totally get these responses and I agree with them to some extent. First off, I didn't think the jokes were offensive. Like I said in my original post, I just thought it wasn't the best look for Gronk. He's one of the biggest faces of the NFL and makes millions off endorsements. I guess that's why I was surprised (I'd feel the same if they came from Brady, Wilson, Watt, Rodgers, etc). After all, this was a roast for charity intended to air Sunday at 11:30 am. However, I was shocked that in this overly sensitive world we live in, it wasn't a huge deal right away, roast or not. For Christ's sake Chris Pratt had to apologize a couple months ago because he posted an Instagram video urging viewers to “turn up the volume and listen” rather than read the subtitles. That was deemed offensive to the deaf community.

As far as why it's okay for some people to get away with stuff with no backlash while others can't, I don't know. Listen to this 55 second exchange between Louis CK and Patrice O'Neal on the O&A Show a few years ago (NSFW). Why is it okay for Louis to say what he said when 99.9% of celebrities would get crushed for it?

Many years ago Ted Danson wore blackface to Whoopi Goldberg's roast (they were dating at the time). Danson was vilified in the press and was forced to apologize even though he said he was openly mocking the people who had criticized their interracial relationship. A short time later Howard Stern wore black face on his TV show making fun of Ted Danson and people thought it was hysterical (as did I). Both were satirical but their receptions were dramatically different because we expect different things from different people.

And Sarah Tiana is known for being an edgy roast comic - that's her thing. She's like a younger, slightly more attractive Jeff Ross. I expected some of her stuff to be edited out. But I didn't think they'd have to remove portions of Gronkowski's set. I don't have "lofty" standards for him, but I wasn't expecting two lazy, racist, hacky jokes you'd hear in the 1960s either, that's all.

Edit - Tried to clean up my shitty grammar and my shitty writing skills.
 
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grimshaw

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I had no problem with the jokes either, but I'm sure BB won't be thrilled about this one regardless of it being in the spirit of a roast.

“Anthony Mackie was Falcon in Captain America: Civil War and you were terrible. I haven’t seen a Falcon look that bad since the second half of the Super Bowl"
 
Ale Xander

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I said exactly the same thing in another thread, NBA draft I think.

And the most offensive joke wasn't even listed above, about the child molester in State College.
 
pappymojo

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“I can’t believe they’re retiring this guy’s number. He’s a f****** DH. Retiring a DH’s number is like putting a vice president on Mount Rushmore. The man barely played a game. One time somebody asked David, ‘Hey, what’s it like to play professional baseball?’ He said, ‘It’s a lot like waiting for a bus, except once every 40 minutes you stand up and ground out to second.’” — Bill Burr, on David Ortiz

“Where the f*** do you get off being honored when you only have three championships? Last I checked, Brady had five and he’s still playing. Imagine if you just ate a salad every once in a while.” — Bill Burr, on David Ortiz
 
HangingW/ScottCooper

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There's absolutely nothing to see here. I was at the roast, and the only reason to be offended by Gronk or anyone is that some of his jokes were hacky or old street jokes. What the leaked video didn't show was that Gronk needed them to adjust the teleprompter so that he could see it. The video also cuts off the first thing he said which was a comment about giving one of the comedians wives a Cleveland Steamer back stage.

Honestly, the biggest groans in the room were at a couple of Aaron Hernandez jokes, and those dissipated when the crowd was reminded that he's a murderer.

It's a roast, this isn't church or even a post game press conference. The only reason he would have to answer for any of this is if the Pats told him to steer clear of certain topics or types of jokes. I suspect they did because he didn't even flinch at some of the Aaron Hernandez jokes. That, if anything would probably be the only thing they care about.

The video shows Pedroia's entire set and if anyone is legitimately offended by that, no one can help you. Dombrowski was in the crowd and I highly doubt he cared one bit.

Anyone that's bothered by this simply doesn't understand the concept and/or has too much time on their hands.
 
HangingW/ScottCooper

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BannedbyNYYFans.com said:
Insult comics like Tiana can get away with edgy, race stuff if their material is funny - especially in a roast setting. But Gronkowski came off as idiotic. It's not the end of the world but it's a bad look imo.

Edit - Added the Barstool link. Shows a more complete video of Gronk's set.
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To this point, the risky thing in a roast when doing material that crosses the line is if you fumble the joke it looks worse. There are race related jokes or other offensive jokes that cross the line that are also clever. That's the appeal of a roast, when there's cleverness and creativity associated with something that's otherwise offensive you generally get the laugh.

Sarah Tiana had a race related joke about Anthony Mackie that was well executed and landed with Mackie and the audience. I'm paraphrasing but here it is, "Anthony Mackie has played Tupac and Martin Luther King in his career. Anthony is doing wonders to dispel white people of the notion that all black people look alike." It's an observation that points to a racial stereotype in a different way than people are accustomed to.
 
Anthologos

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Gronk's jokes seem pretty unfunny to me; but any roast without dino and frank is beyond my time .

But i was under the impression that the athletes don't write their own material. Is this wrong? …
 
kenneycb

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No you are correct. For the Comedy Central roasts, I'm pretty sure only the actual comedians (Jeff Ross, Lampanelli, etc.) write their own jokes. There's a team of comedians that write everyone else's, some of whom eventually graduate to the dais like Anthony Jeselnik or Whitney Cummings.
 
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HangingW/ScottCooper said:
To this point, the risky thing in a roast when doing material that crosses the line is if you fumble the joke it looks worse. There are race related jokes or other offensive jokes that cross the line that are also clever. That's the appeal of a roast, when there's cleverness and creativity associated with something that's otherwise offensive you generally get the laugh.

Sarah Tiana had a race related joke about Anthony Mackie that was well executed and landed with Mackie and the audience. I'm paraphrasing but here it is, "Anthony Mackie has played Tupac and Martin Luther King in his career. Anthony is doing wonders to dispel white people of the notion that all black people look alike." It's an observation that points to a racial stereotype in a different way than people are accustomed to.
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I hate posting on SoSH sometimes because I'm a terrible writer and quite often I don't articulate my point well even if I write a dissertation. Your post expressed exactly what I was trying to say in a clearer way. Thanks for expressing it better than I did.

PS - I once heard Bill Burr say if you're white and want to do jokes about race the material can't just be funny, it has to be somewhat witty as well. If not, it looks really lazy and mean spirited.
 
soxfan121

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HangingW/ScottCooper said:
To this point, the risky thing in a roast when doing material that crosses the line is if you fumble the joke it looks worse. There are race related jokes or other offensive jokes that cross the line that are also clever. That's the appeal of a roast, when there's cleverness and creativity associated with something that's otherwise offensive you generally get the laugh.

Sarah Tiana had a race related joke about Anthony Mackie that was well executed and landed with Mackie and the audience. I'm paraphrasing but here it is, "Anthony Mackie has played Tupac and Martin Luther King in his career. Anthony is doing wonders to dispel white people of the notion that all black people look alike." It's an observation that points to a racial stereotype in a different way than people are accustomed to.
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Roast humor is personal; you can get away with "offensive" material as long as it is directed at either the Roast subject or another individual on the dias. That joke about Anthony Mackie is funny - as long as Anthony Mackie is sitting on stage.

The talk radio discussion on this focuses on "it's a roast! it's supposed to be offensive!" - which is only half-right. The reason Gronk is catching flak from some people is that the "quarterback" joke was neither aimed at one person, nor was it funny (or witty).

By making the "offensive material" personal - aimed at a specific person - you avoid possibly offending a whole bunch of people who didn't sign up to be part of the joke. Had the punchline of that quarterback joke referenced (for example) Tom Brady being cheap - or even Robert Kraft being cheap - it would have been somewhat funny and not generally offensive to a bunch of people - it would have been offensive to Brady, or Kraft.

That all said, I fully expect a "if anyone was offended..." apology and for this to disappear because it really is chickenshit/inconsequential. Gronk is a dude who likes to make 69 jokes; he didn't write those "jokes" and he isn't doing anything other than reading what was written for him. Thus, this is almost totally overblown and meaningless.
 
Red(s)HawksFan

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soxfan121 said:
The talk radio discussion on this focuses on "it's a roast! it's supposed to be offensive!" - which is only half-right. The reason Gronk is catching flak from some people is that the "quarterback" joke was neither aimed at one person, nor was it funny (or witty).
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Gronk's "quarterback" joke was aimed at one of the comedians on the dais, Josh Wolf. Wolf is Jewish, and he's always making jokes about that fact. Wolf has already commented on the controversy, saying he wasn't offended by the content of the joke. He was only offended that it wasn't all that funny of a joke.
 
soxfan121

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Ah, I missed that detail. Edited audio clip is what I heard, and that makes it sound very general.

Lenny Clarke tried to throw cold water on the EEI morning program's hot take, but they were hammering it all day from what I heard. Clarke had basically the same thing to say as Wolf did apparently.
 
NDame616

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The biggest problem with Gronk's Jewish joke was the fact I heard it 15 years ago in middle school.
 
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soxfan121 said:
Ah, I missed that detail. Edited audio clip is what I heard, and that makes it sound very general.

Lenny Clarke tried to throw cold water on the EEI morning program's hot take, but they were hammering it all day from what I heard. Clarke had basically the same thing to say as Wolf did apparently.
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The High Judge of Humor, Lenny Clarke. Did he yell about it? Because that's fucking hilarious!
 
Marciano490

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NDame616 said:
The biggest problem with Gronk's Jewish joke was the fact I heard it 15 years ago in middle school.
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Like all of Gronk's humor. I bet he knows a ton of jokes that involve 3 guys, a dark and stormy night, and a farmer's daughter.
 
HangingW/ScottCooper

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At the beginning of Pedroia's set he was going to call out Adam Ray/The Old Yankee Guy. It definitely looks like he was going to say something that may have crossed the line. It was probably off the cuff and then Pedroia self censored. Of all the people on the stage, he was the most uncomfortable with all of it and as a non-comedian he absolutely killed. He also did so under whatever self imposed (or Red Sox imposed) rules he had.
 
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