Comedian Jeffrey Ross has roasted the likes of Pamela Anderson, Joan Rivers, Bob Saget and most recently, David Hasselhoff. Next week, the man known as the “Roast Master General” and a crew of wisecracking comics take aim at Donald Trump as part of Comedy Central’s continuing series of celebrity roasts.
| Onstage |
| Jeffrey Ross |
| Where: DC Improv, 1140 Connecticut Ave. NW |
| When: 8 p.m. Thursday to Sunday, 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday |
| Info: $20; 202-296-7008; dcimprov.com |
“It’s a little scary, right? Repercussions, right?” said Ross. “I guess he probably has enough money to have me killed at any second. I am a little nervous. But what I know about him is, he’s a great sport. I’ve worked for him before. The truth is, somewhere under that orange skin is a sweet guy.”
Before the roast of Trump in New York next week, which will air on Comedy Central later this month, Ross performs this Thursday through Sunday at the D.C. Improv.
The 45-year-old Ross has been an active comic since the mid-’90s and also owns plenty of writing and acting credits. But it might be the Comedy Central roasts, those cringe-inducing, zinging laugh fests that knock celebrities down to size, that the New Jersey native is best known for.
“You have to pick your targets well,” Ross said. “It’s like a jet fighter mission. You have to really pinpoint, and you have to roast individuals that you know are good sports. You don’t want to roast anybody who’s cranky or insecure or thin-skinned. As hard as writing the jokes is, identifying the right targets and the right people to roast is equally as difficult.”
“You want everyone to leave a roast thinking that it was so much fun, it was a great party,” Ross continued. “You don’t want to hurt people’s feelings for real.”
Ross’s scathing pokes at roastees and other honored guests, many jokes which can’t be reprinted here but can be found online, earned him the title of “The Meanest Man in Comedy” from New York magazine.
“I was flattered they knew who I was,” Ross said. “It became sort of a nickname for a while. But I do sort of, as I analyze it, it doesn’t seem accurate to me because all the roasting comes from affection. I don’t consider myself mean, and nobody ever gets mad. So ‘mean’ is very subjective. To me, it’s loving. If I took the time to write a well-crafted joke about you, it’s because I care.”
Ross’s standup show is different from a celebrity roast. He says he generally takes shots at the city he’s in, and then does 15-second “speed roasting” with willing audience participants.
But could Ross withstand the hot seat? Could he take the hilarious-but-harsh barbs from his contemporaries and friends?
“I guess one day I’ll find out,” he said. “I think I can take it. I guess I’d be a hypocrite if I couldn’t.”
