celebrity roasts

A celebrity roast is a comedic event where a famous person is publicly mocked and insulted by friends, colleagues, and fellow entertainers, all in good humor.

The format features speakers delivering increasingly outrageous jokes about the honoree, who sits onstage absorbing the abuse before typically delivering a closing rebuttal.

The Comedy Central roast of the rapper got brutal.

Despite the savage humor, roasts are understood as tributes—being roasted signals you've achieved enough status to warrant the attention.