By RODNEY HO/ rho@ajc.com, originally filed Wednesday June 10, 2015
When roaster extraordinaire Jeff Ross recounted on Conan O'Brien's TBS show recently that he smoked pot between commercial breaks during the Justin Bieber roast with Martha Stewart and Snoop Dogg, the story went viral.
"I couldn't believe it got so much traction," Ross mused earlier this week, talking to me to promote his June 13 special on Comedy Central and an upcoming Variety Playhouse show on June 18. (Tickets here.) "I love Martha Stewart. I'm sleeping on her sheets right now. She sent us all sheets after the roast." (So polite, that Martha Stewart!)
His upcoming Comedy Central special this Saturday isn't a standard stand-up concert or roast. Instead, Ross was trying to think of an audience has hasn't faced before. "Since I couldn't get access to a Ku Klux Klan rally, I decided to roast criminals instead," he said.
Here's a sample (uncensored)
Ross spent three days at the Bravos County Jail in Bryan, TX. He interviewed inmates and detention officers, played basketball with the convicts and even sampled solitary confinement. As the sample video showed, he told one person he looked like a child molester and a child at the same time.
He said he managed to get out unscathed but "some of these convicts will get out of prison and if I keep doing press, they'll know where to find me!"
Ross thinks if he were in prison, his humor would keep fellow prisoners sane. "I spoke with a lot of ex-cons for research and they said gallows humor helps them get through it," he said. "This may be some of the only happiness they'll get out of prison. Some of them deserve that."
And would he be worried about participating in some extracurricular activities that involve parts of him he usually doesn't want invaded? "I'd be a very reluctant participant," he said.
Plus, what would land Ross in jail? "Murder," he said. "Something intense!"
The toughest part of being in prison, he said, would be not being able to perform at night. "That would drive me crazy," he said.
Ross is very much familiar with Atlanta. He came here twice last year: once at the Atlanta Improv, then two weeks later at the Funny or Die Festival at Lakewood Amphitheatre.
His last visit, he checked out both the Jimmy Carter Center and the infamous Clermont Lounge strip joint, which has been visited by everyone from Jon Hamm to Pink.
Ross said he got a lap dance from one of the veteran strippers. "She even let me share her insulin!" he joked. "It was really hot!"
He tries to get to any city early enough so he can learn enough about it to make city-specific jokes. "I've visited Atlanta so many times, I know the people. I know the lay of the land. I can't wait to rip into everything!"
I then read a few HuffPost headlines to him from Wednesday morning to get his tart reaction:
"Miley Cyrus poses nude, talks fluid sexuality in Paper magazine."
"Wow! I would say Miley Cyrus would be the most exciting target for our next roast on Comedy Central! And we could make it an all-nude roast! It would be the 'Naked and Afraid' roast. I'd watch that. But I wouldn't invite Shaq. That might ruin my eyes. Too much man!"
"Duck Dynasty star opens up about sexual abuse."
"This is crazy! If the 'Duck Dynasty' folks hooked up with the Duggars, we'd have one big, incestuous hillbilly reality show!"
"Why mom jeans are legitimately cooler than skinny jeans."
"I like skinny jeans. Sometimes I like mom jeans. I'm not prejudiced against my mom looking sexy. I'm down!"
"Here's what men really think about women's pubic hair."
"I'm all about freedom of choice. Whatever she likes, I like, as long as I get all access. I just want to meet a nice lady to settle down with and shave her."
TV PREVIEW
"Jeff Ross Roasts Criminals: Live at Bravos County Jail," 11 p.m. Saturday, Comedy Central
CONCERT PREVIEW
Jeff Ross
8 p.m., Thursday, June 18
$25 in advance, $28 at the door
Variety Playhouse
1099 Euclid Ave. NE, Atlanta
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