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There Were Many Bruce Jenner Jokes at the Bieber Roast and It Was Shameful

Twitter reacts once more, criticizes comedians

Mar 31, 2015 12:51 GMT  ·  By
Justin Bieber at his Comedy Central Roast, which aired on March 30
   Justin Bieber at his Comedy Central Roast, which aired on March 30

Comedy Central aired the Justin Bieber Roast that taped earlier this month and that is supposed to help him overhaul his image and launch a new stage of his career, now that he’s shown he’s man enough to laugh at his own mistakes.

Reactions to it are mixed. On the one hand, Bieber’s fans, the Beliebers, found it the most hilarious thing ever, praising the Canadian pop star for having the guts to stand on that stage and have people unload on him like that; on the other, critics thought Roasts have lost their freshness and appeal; and regular viewers were offended by some of the jokes that made the cut - and even those that didn’t.

Bruce Jenner was a very easy target because of reports that he’s transitioning to female, it would seem.

Comedians under fire for transphobic Bruce Jenner jokes

At least 3 of the comedians asked to roast The Biebs, including roastmaster Kevin Hart, made jokes about the former Olympian and reality star; as expected, all of them touched on his alleged transition to female.

Rumors of this have been around for a couple of years, picking up speed in the past several months. Jenner is yet to confirm them, but he’s said to be shooting footage for an E! docuseries that will show his transition from the day he decided to go through with it to the final moment of the big reveal.

It is said that his decision came after 50 years of struggling with his identity and of going out of his way to keep the secret, both from the world and his own family. If it’s true that he’s finally accepted his true gender identity and is going through with the transition, he must not think it a laughing matter.

You can find Hart, Jeff Ross and Will Ferrell’s jokes on the topic below. Ferrell was in character as Ron Burgundy, the famous newsman from the hit comedy franchise “Anchorman,” but that’s his only defense. Ross and Ferrell’s jokes were cut from the final Roast, because they were deemed too much.

Still, the fact that they were made in the first place is rubbing people the wrong way: as you can see from the samples of tweets below, many are urging comedians to stop making transphobic jokes because they are in very poor taste.

To make matters even worse, Bruce’s daughter Kendall and her step-daughter Kourtney Kardashian were in the room when they were made.

Jamie Foxx and the Bruce Jenner faux pas

As it so happens, the jokes on the Bieber Roast come within hours after a similar one made by Jamie Foxx at the iHeartRadio Music Awards 2015, when he opened the gala by promising amazing performances, one of which would be a his-and-hers duet by Bruce Jenner alone.

Reactions to Foxx’s idea of comedy were comparable to those at the Roast: Bruce’s transition is no laughing matter and should be included on that very short list of topics that shouldn’t be touched even by famous comedians in their routines.

As of the time of writing, not one of the comedians criticized online has said anything regarding the controversy. It could be that they never will, mostly because they’re known for not apologizing for their material, no matter how offensive it is considered.

Bieber Roast Jokes