Roasting celebrities and comedians has become a common way to create buzz and make some quick money. I remember watching a few as a teenager, and being shocked that the comedian was expected to sit there, not because it was so offensive, but because the origins of the roast called for a response.

If you are going to roast me, I’m going to roast you back.

What we think of as a “roast” has its origins in the 1940s in New York, but the true history goes further back.

The roast has gone by many names: roasting, cracking, and snapping are all terms I’ve heard in my lifetime. However, as far as I can tell, it was originally called "playing the dozens" in America.

It is intellectual sparring with the sharpest mental blade. The goal is to verbally tear down your opponent before they can take you out.

The game likely originated in West Africa and made its way to America during the slave trade. The name likely came from slaves with disabilities or weaknesses being sold “by the dozen.”

Allegedly, the game was meant to prepare children for life’s stresses. If you can’t handle someone telling “yo momma jokes,” you may not be ready for the real world.

Playing the dozens was a formative part of my childhood, and if I’m being honest, it did make me stronger. As a nerdy kid living in the projects, it was my best tool against bullies. They could outnumber me. Some of them were bigger than me. I even had to worry about retaliation if I beat them in a fight. However, if I beat them in a verbal battle and they retaliated, they were soft. They couldn’t handle a “yo momma joke.”

The dozens grew into the celebrity roast we see today. On the surface, they are harmless. However, the simple rule of sitting there and taking it no matter what someone says is starting to show its cracks.

For me, the roast of Kevin Hart went too far.

“Right now, George Floyd is looking up at us all laughing so hard he can’t breathe,” said comedian Tony Hinchcliffe. He is white.

This was a joke Hinchliffe made when referring to Kevin Hart’s career at the roast. His delivery was mediocre, and it was mid-level middle school humor at best.

Hinchcliffe is known to me because he occasionally says racist stuff. He was first brought to my attention by a student who was complaining about his Puerto Rico “joke”. He called it a “floating island of garbage.” This was especially upsetting to the student because Hinchcliffe was the warm-up act for one of Donald Trump’s rallies.

Trump's treatment of many minority groups, especially Hispanic people, is no secret.

Let me say this now. I support freedom of speech. I have no problem with Tony getting on stage and saying racist stuff in hopes of shocking people into laughter. However, the audience also has the right to dislike what is being said, and we can also judge what is being said based on the history of the person.

A white man who supports Trump made a joke about George Floyd being in hell after he was brutally murdered by cops…at a Black comedian’s roast.

The joke wasn’t even funny.

“Tony reminds me of Charlie Kirk, in that he’s definitely been on camera letting a guy unload in his throat,” said Pete Davidson.

Some of the people who criticized Tony loved Davidson’s joke. I will tell you the difference. Both jokes are edgy and depend on shock value to be funny, but the difference is that Pete’s is clever and actually funny.

Stay with me.

Davidson is poking fun at the homophobic types who are secretly gay. Tony has been accused of this. Davidson then pairs this with the murder of Kirk, who was shot in the neck on camera.

It is clever, but if I’m being honest, I don’t think either joke was worth it even with my disdain for Kirk. (Read more about my thoughts on Charlie Kirk here.)

Roasting the dead

Where I come from, most things were fair game in playing the dozens, but one thing you never did was speak ill of the dead. If you did this, throwing hands was the only response.

A student was recently expelled for fighting. When he told me that people were talking about his dead brother, I understood why he felt he had no choice. As an adult, I said what I was supposed to say. “What do you think your brother wants for you?”

However, I already knew his response. “What would my brother think if I walked away?”

I’m not sure I could have sat and supported a show with Tony Hinchcliffe joking about the murder of George Floyd. Kevin Hart sat there and laughed at Tony’s unfunny joke.

Sadly, Hart even defended Tony after the show.

Too far is the point?

“Would I tell those jokes? No. But do I get why they’re being told? Yes. I’m not looking at Pete crazy….I’m not looking at Tony. I know what you’re going to do. I know your style of comedy,” -Kevin Hart.

Hart believes that “going too far” is the point of the joke.

I’m not so sure this makes for a good comedian. I always found the skill of comedy was finding the line and dancing on it. Once you cross the line, you lose the audience. That used to be the fault of the comedian. Now, we have comedians saying if you don’t like a joke, you are too “woke” or against free speech or whatever.

I disagree. You can do your bad joke, but don’t complain when you receive backlash.

I grew up on Dave Chappelle. I had so much respect for him. When he made his return, I was thrilled. I thought he went a little heavy on the trans jokes, but it was a hot topic. I admit I laughed…then he did another special full of trans jokes…and another special…and slowly his audience dwindled.

Did he blame himself? Nope. He blamed the fans even though so many were with him and ready to give him the benefit of the doubt because he had so much goodwill.

Is roasting a problem?

I grew up roasting. I even believe there is some truth behind roasting building strength and character, but I also think of how roasting breaks kids.

If the roastee isn’t fully engaged in the game, do you know another name for roasting?

Bullying.

When I was roasting, it wasn’t because I was “in on the joke.” I was the outcast. I used it to defend myself.

My sister also experienced the roast, and she didn’t adapt as easily. She cried, and this only made her a bigger target.

I’m not saying roasting is all bad, but we must reestablish the rules of engagement. Keep the focus on the people in the room. George Floyd was not in that room.

Dead people, especially the recently deceased, are off limits. If the line is crossed, repercussions should be expected.

Despite a good joke, Pete went to far for me. Tony, however, did what he usually does. He disrespected an entire culture that he isn’t a part of and doesn’t understand. One day he is going to catch the hands.

Freedom of speech does not mean freedom of repercussions.