Tom Brady called out Jeff Ross during Netflix’s The Roast of Tom Brady, but fellow attendee Joel McHale asserts the warning was made in jest.
“That was a bit,” McHale, 52, said during the Thursday, May 9, episode of the “Viall Files” podcast. “I mean, I don’t think it was real. In the place, it [seemed like] a joke.”
Brady, 46, starred in the live Netflix special on Sunday, May 5, where comedian Ross, 58, attempted to make a joke about New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft. (Brady spent much of his NFL career as a quarterback for the team.)
“‘I’m the best decision your organization has ever made,’” Ross said, impersonating Brady. “‘Would you like a massage?’” (Kraft, 82, was charged in 2019 for soliciting prostitution at a Florida massage parlor. He was ultimately cleared of all charges.)
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Brady, however, appeared to be bothered by the subtle dig and walked up to the podium to stage-whisper in Ross’ ear.
“Don’t say that s—t again,” Brady told Ross, who then replied, “OK, OK. [Robert is] having fun, look at him.”
As the roast aired, many viewers theorized that there was real beef between Brady and Ross.
“They want there to be something so bad,” McHale quipped on Thursday. “They want to point out, ‘That person said that thing.’ But [Tom] even killed it. He was very smooth.”
Ross, for his part, had reportedly been concerned about how Brady would take his jokes.
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“Afterward, he was a little like … he was a little bit worried,” Nikki Glaser, who also performed on the roast, later recalled on The Howard Stern Show. “We have consciences about these things. You know, afterward, we go, ‘Did that really hurt his feelings?’ And I go, ‘You know, [Tom] had to do it performatively for Robert, I’m sure.’ But I’m sure it was not an issue that Jeff was going to hear about today or anything like that.”
Kevin Hart emceed the roast on Sunday, enlisting everyone from Ross, Glaser and more to joke about Brady’s NFL career and retirement, as well as his 2022 divorce from Gisele Bündchen.
“I didn’t know how big of a deal it was. I didn’t realize we’d be sitting at tables,” McHale recalled. “I brought my 16-year-old [son], so I was like, ‘You enjoying these dirty jokes, son?’ They showed him [on camera] once because his friends [saw him]. He’s a huge football fan, so he knew all the [athletes there]. It was f—king good and I really enjoyed it, and the joke-telling was pretty great.”
He continued, “They’re pros, so they should be crushing it, but then the football players got up there. Drew Bledsoe, he nailed it. Overall, it’s a hard thing to do and it was live. [It was] so seamless.”
The Roast of Tom Brady is now streaming on Netflix.
