Top 15 Epic Celebrity Roasts That Stole the Show

Some roast moments do more than land a sharp punchline. They take over the room, seize the broadcast, and echo across the internet for days. From classic podium barbs to modern televised events, these showstoppers mix timing, surprise appearances, and perfectly aimed jokes to create live TV lightning in a bottle.

Here are fifteen times the mic got hot and the crowd leaned in. For each one you will find who ran the show, who took part, where it happened, and the specific beats that made the moment stick. This list focuses on concrete details so you can quickly place each moment in time and understand how the night unfolded.

Norm Macdonald

At the ‘Comedy Central Roast of Bob Saget’ in 2008, Norm Macdonald delivered a set built from intentionally old fashioned clean jokes. John Stamos served as roastmaster and the dais featured Jeff Ross, Greg Giraldo, and Gilbert Gottfried. The taping took place in Burbank and the episode aired in August on Comedy Central.

Macdonald leaned into corny one liners from a vintage style routine, which created a sharp contrast with the format that night. The segment was recorded with multiple close reaction shots that captured the room as the material unfolded, and the clean approach became the most replayed portion of the special across official channels.

Ricky Gervais

Ricky Gervais hosted the ‘Golden Globes’ for the fifth time on January 5, 2020 at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills. The monologue opened the NBC telecast and named studios, films, and nominees directly. Cameras cut to the front tables for live reactions as he worked through the room.

Producers placed a clock on the prompter and cleared a longer opening block to accommodate the extended set. The appearance capped earlier hosting stints in prior years and set the program’s tone before the first award, with clips from the segment packaged for rapid replay across the broadcast night.

Justin Bieber

The ‘Comedy Central Roast of Justin Bieber’ taped in mid March 2015 on the Sony Pictures lot and premiered March 30. Kevin Hart served as roastmaster and the lineup included Ludacris, Hannibal Buress, Jeff Ross, Natasha Leggero, Chris D Elia, Martha Stewart, Snoop Dogg, and Shaquille O Neal.

Bieber closed the show by reading a prepared response that addressed his public incidents and thanked the dais. The production scheduled music heavy bumpers and staged audience sections with younger viewers, which helped the special reach beyond the channel’s core comedy audience when it aired.

Charlie Sheen

The ‘Comedy Central Roast of Charlie Sheen’ aired in September 2011 with Seth MacFarlane as roastmaster. Roasters included Patrice O Neal, Amy Schumer, William Shatner, Anthony Jeselnik, Mike Tyson, Steve O, Jeff Ross, and Jon Lovitz. The special was taped a week before broadcast.

Patrice O Neal delivered the final set from the dais with material that addressed the evening directly and referenced earlier jokes. Sheen remained onstage for the traditional closing statement, and production elements such as archival graphics and lower thirds tied the show to Sheen’s headline period that year.

James Franco

The ‘Comedy Central Roast of James Franco’ premiered on Labor Day 2013 with Seth Rogen as roastmaster. The dais drew from Franco’s frequent collaborators and friends, including Jonah Hill, Sarah Silverman, Nick Kroll, Natasha Leggero, Bill Hader, and Jeff Ross. The taping preceded the premiere by about a week.

Writers pulled from Franco’s filmography, graduate programs, and art projects to build specific setups. Bill Hader appeared in character and several bits referenced shared projects, which allowed the show to integrate film clips and stills that supported the lines without interrupting the pacing.

Bruce Willis

The ‘Comedy Central Roast of Bruce Willis’ taped in Los Angeles in July 2018 and aired later that month. Joseph Gordon Levitt hosted and the dais featured Edward Norton, Nikki Glaser, Kevin Pollak, Cybill Shepherd, Dennis Rodman, and Jeff Ross.

Demi Moore made an unannounced appearance and performed a set that referenced shared history and film titles. The running order placed her segment late in the program, which allowed editors to build the night around that reveal for trailers and highlight packages when the episode premiered.

Stephen Colbert

Stephen Colbert headlined the White House Correspondents Dinner on April 29, 2006 at the Washington Hilton. He performed in character from ‘The Colbert Report’ and delivered a prepared set within the program’s standard time block. The event was recorded and carried live by C SPAN.

The routine addressed the President, members of the administration, and the press seated at the head tables. Transcripts and full video were posted shortly after the dinner, and the distribution helped the set reach viewers who did not watch the live broadcast that weekend.

Barack Obama

President Barack Obama delivered a comedic set at the White House Correspondents Dinner on April 30, 2011 in Washington. The program placed his remarks near the end of the evening and followed with a closing set by ‘Saturday Night Live’ head writer Seth Meyers.

The President screened a short video that played off contemporary news coverage, then returned to the podium for additional lines. Donald Trump sat in the audience that night, and cutaway shots of his table were included in both the live feed and later highlight edits.

Rob Lowe

The ‘Comedy Central Roast of Rob Lowe’ taped in late August 2016 and premiered on Labor Day. David Spade served as roastmaster. The dais included Peyton Manning, Nikki Glaser, Jeff Ross, Jewel, Ann Coulter, Rob Riggle, Ken Jeong, and Ralph Macchio.

Producers seated Manning near the podium to facilitate exchanges with speakers and staged reaction shots for use in promos. Coulter’s set was recorded without a teleprompter fallback and kept in the final cut with minimal edits, which preserved the room’s response for the broadcast version.

Joan Rivers

The ‘Comedy Central Roast of Joan Rivers’ aired in 2009 with Kathy Griffin as roastmaster. The dais featured Greg Giraldo, Jeff Ross, Whitney Cummings, Tom Arnold, and Gilbert Gottfried. The taping took place in Los Angeles during the summer programming window.

Writers assembled material from Rivers’s long run in stand up, daytime television, and fashion coverage. The final segment gave Rivers the last word, and the closing was structured to reference specific credits while staying within the timed block set by the network.

Don Rickles

Don Rickles delivered a featured set at ‘The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast’ for Frank Sinatra in 1978 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The program was produced for NBC and presented in a primetime variety format with songs, podium spots, and panel reactions.

Camera coverage alternated between Rickles and the front tables, including repeated cutaways to Sinatra. The guest list drew major film and television names from the period, and the edit preserved long stretches of Rickles’s rapid delivery with minimal interruption from applause breaks.

Alec Baldwin

The ‘Comedy Central Roast of Alec Baldwin’ taped in early September 2019 in Beverly Hills and aired later that month. Sean Hayes served as roastmaster. The dais included Robert De Niro, Blake Griffin, Caitlyn Jenner, Ken Jeong, Nikki Glaser, Chris Redd, Caroline Rhea, and Jeff Ross.

Production incorporated a career montage that spanned film and television credits, which set up targeted sections of the show. Seating charts placed De Niro and Jenner in visible positions for cutaways, and their podium segments were positioned to anchor both halves of the broadcast.

William Shatner

The ‘Comedy Central Roast of William Shatner’ premiered in August 2006 with Jason Alexander as roastmaster. The dais brought together George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, Betty White, Greg Giraldo, Artie Lange, and Jeff Ross. The episode was taped during the network’s summer schedule.

Reunion moments with former costars were integrated into the rundown to support callouts to science fiction lore. The show mixed archival stills and short clips that tied jokes to specific episodes and films, which helped the live audience and viewers track references across the program.

David Hasselhoff

The ‘Comedy Central Roast of David Hasselhoff’ aired in August 2010 with Seth MacFarlane as roastmaster. Pamela Anderson, Hulk Hogan, Lisa Lampanelli, Whitney Cummings, George Hamilton, and Jeff Ross appeared on the dais. The taping preceded the premiere by several days.

Writers drew on global music releases and international television runs to build material that spanned multiple markets. The closing included a musical nod that linked to a well known single, and the production used beach themed set pieces that matched references made throughout the night.

Tina Fey

Tina Fey co hosted the ‘Golden Globes’ with Amy Poehler on January 13, 2013 at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills. The live NBC broadcast opened with an extended monologue that referenced that season’s films and singled out nominees by name.

Recurring bits were threaded through the show so the hosts could return to running jokes between award presentations. The production placed the podium for easy movement in and out of the orchestra pit, which allowed quick transitions from their monologue back to the awards format.

Tell us which roast moment you remember best in the comments and share any details we should add to the list.