INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Three months ago Tom Brady roasted by critics as Fox Sports’ top NFL analyst, got his share of comedians, former teammates and his longtime coach Sunday night during a Netflix live comedy event made especially for streaming.
And it’s safe to say that after the one liners and jokes that Brady heard during three hours of “The Greatest Roast of All Time” at The Forum, he’ll do just fine.
“It’s like a football game. You run with a game plan and then you see how the strategy goes and then you adjust on the fly,” Brady said before the event. “That’s how the locker room has been for me all these years. So I’m not used to not being made fun of.”
Comedian Nikki Glaser, whose monologue was one of the funniest of the night, called the roast “the Super Bowl of comedians” and how the level of competition was raised because everyone wanted to take on each other.
Brady endured more blitzes and pressure than during an average NFL game as an impressive lineup of comedians, former teammates and opponents took the stage. Host Kevin Hart said before the event that no topic was off limits, and Hart went on the offensive early with jokes about Brady’s ex-wife Gisele BΓΌndchen.
“Gizelle gave you an ultimatum. She said you retire or we’re done. When you have a chance to go 8-9 and all it’s going to cost you is your wife and kids, you gotta do what you got. I gotta do it ,β Hart said, referring to Brady coming off a brief retirement in 2022 for one more season.
The only time Brady objected to a joke was when Jeff Ross referenced Patriots owner Robert Kraft giving him a massage. In 2019, Kraft received a misdemeanor charge of paying for sex at a massage parlor in Florida.
Brady walked up to Ross and whispered in his ear “don’t say that (thing) again,” but was caught on the mic.
Later, Kraft and former Patriots coach Bill Belichick they did a shot together on stage after some consoling from Hart.
Belichick left the Patriots in January after 24 seasons with the team, and there has been reported friction between the six-time winning coach and Super Bowl owner the past two years.
After joking that this is like a reunion and “unlike a lot of family reunions, there are some people I’m desperately trying to avoid,” Kraft praised Belichick for what the two have accomplished.
“I want to say that this is the greatest coach in the history of the game that has done what no one else has done. And to have Tom Brady and him has been the greatest honor that the good Lord has given me,” Kraft said.
It wasn’t the first shot (with alcohol) Belichick pulled. Rob Gronkowski he had Belichick and Brady take a shot together after his monologue. Gronkowski celebrated by clinking his glass.
Even Peyton Manning got in on the action, coming out late into the show and throwing some tight spirals at his longtime rival.
“Honestly, it’s great to be here with a bunch of people sitting around talking about Tom Brady,” Manning said. “Or as we call it in the Manning family: Thanksgiving.”
Belichick appeared at the start of the roast during a taped segment when he told Brady he was “starting the roast” instead of Drew Bledsoe. Brady replaced Bledsoe in 2001 when Bledsoe was injured in a Week 2 game against the Jets and led the Patriots to their first Super Bowl title that season.
“I want to say that this is the greatest coach in the history of the game that has done what no one else has done. And to have Tom Brady and him has been the greatest honor the good Lord has given me.”
Patriots owner Robert Kraft
“For all of you out there wondering who is responsible for the success of the Patriots during the time that Tom and I were together — was it Tom or me — actually the truth of the matter was that we were both because of me , ” Belichick said.
Brady had some fun at Belichick’s expense, albeit near the end of the show.
“I’ve been out of the game for a minute, so I’m curious, how many Super Bowl rings have you won since I’ve been gone?” Brady said. “Maybe it’s not just the guy on the side. When I go to the Indy 500, I don’t ask the winning driver, ‘Hey, did you gas up your car?’
Hart said before the show that he thought Brady had a very good mindset for the event. Brady came in well prepared, doing his monologue with a group of people, including those on Fox Sports.
“You have to be able to laugh at yourself, and I like what he’s doing in this forum,” Hart said. “I love that it’s embracing the things that some people think it’s shying away from. It’s a celebration of greatness and we’re doing it in a fun way.”
Bledsoe also said Brady had a sense of humor, but that this was a different stage.
“I thought he was very brave. There’s plenty of material to make fun of him,” Bledsoe said. “The truth is, when you’re a professional athlete, roasting each other is something we do every day in the locker room. And so, you better have a thick skin. Now, people laugh along with it.”
This report used information from the Associated Press.