Standup legend and self-proclaimed “Roastmaster General” Jeff Ross blasted cancel culture and the “fake rules” that some critics try to place over comedy to keep it from being too offensive.
During a brief interview at The Creative Coalition’s recent Washington, D.C. event honoring military service organizations, Ross ripped people who think that comedy should be watered down or made less offensive.
“People – they don’t want their comedy watered down, they want it potent, right to the stomach, and that’s what I try to do,” Ross told journalist Nicholas Ballasy.
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The reporter asked the longtime roast comic what he thinks about the current state of comedy in the era of so-called cancel culture – a cultural atmosphere in which comedians or prominent figures can face public backlash for jokes or statements deemed too offensive.
“Are certain topics off limits?” the reporter asked. Ross replied, “No. The kind of comedy I do has always been OK for my fans. Roast fans are the most dedicated. They don’t care about what any fake rules are.”
“What’s funny is funny, you know?” the comic continued, noting that the people who complain about certain jokes are the ones with the problem. “There will always be people who are going to pretend to be offended, but those are the people that offend me, you know? Hypocrites.”
Ross is no stranger to performing and defending boundary-pushing comedy. The “roastmaster” – a moniker he’s earned from routine appearances on high-profile roast shows on Comedy Central and in comedy clubs – defended “Saturday Night Live” comedian Michael Che from public backlash in 2021.
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Che was accused by the Anti-Defamation League and other critics of making an “antisemitic” joke on the NBC sketch series that year.
Ross insisted it was a good joke.
“Uh, it was hilarious,” the roastmaster told TMZ at the time. “I wrote him and told him. As his Jewish buddy I thought he was hilarious. People need to have a thick skin. This is a tough world out there.”
While talking with Ballasy in D.C. this month, Ross explained that he does like to tailor his jokes for his audiences, noting that the military cadets he was speaking to at the event were looking for some strong jokes.
“You got a room full of young cadets in here from West Point, so they’re not looking for watered down, corny jokes, you know? These people are working hard.”
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