Comedy roasts may be intended to generate a barrel of laughs, but for Nikki Glaser they can leave a bad taste in her mouth.
Chatting to host Terry Gross on Monday’s episode of the “Fresh Air” podcast, the comedian, 40, shared that brainstorming insulting barbs about celebrities can cause a “disgusting” frame of mind.
“I really do have to do kind of a cleanse after I write for a roast,” Glaser, who made headlines for her appearance on The Greatest Roast of All Time: Tom Brady, revealed. “Because my mind is in just such a bad place where I’m just constantly thinking the worst thing about someone, looking at pictures of them thinking, what is something I can think about them that is going to haunt them the rest of their life because I’m going to reveal it to everyone? It’s a disgusting place to write from, but that’s — that’s the job.”
In May, Glaser infamously took aim at NFL star Tom Brady in a savage roast that mocked his divorce with model Gisele Bündchen and his $30 million cryptocurrency loss.
Following the release of the Netflix special, Brady, 46, shared his regrets about taking part in the roast due to the effect the jokes about his rocky relationships had on his kids.(Brady and Bündchen, 44, share son Benjamin, 14, and daughter Vivien, 11. The quarterback also shares son John “Jack” Edward Thomas Moynahan, 16, with his ex Bridget Moynahan.)
“I loved when the jokes were about me. I thought they were so fun,” Brady told “The Pivot Podcast” in May. “I didn’t like the way that affected my kids. So it’s the hardest part about, like, the bittersweet aspect of when you do something that you think is one way, and then all of a sudden you realize I wouldn’t do that again because of the way that affected, actually, the people that I care about most in the world.”
According to media reports, Bündchen was also not pleased about the way her failed marriage with the sportstar was poked fun at during the roast.
Addressing the backlash in the interview with “Fresh Air”, Glaser admitted that while she didn’t understand why celebrities would voluntarily sign up to be ridiculed publicly, she believed Brady should have been aware the controversial aspects of his life would likely be raised.
“In terms of Tom Brady … because he said yes to it, it’s kind of like, unless you tell me things are off limits, I’m going to go there,” she explained. “I have license. I have your consent. … I can’t believe the places my mind will go to.”
Glaser has previously weighed in on Brady’s comments about his family’s reaction to the comedy.
“I feel maybe he didn’t consider the backlash from his family and how it would affect them, and I do understand that,” Glaser told Today with Hoda and Jenna in May.