Summary

• Comedy Central Roasts on hiatus since 2019, but old episodes with offensive jokes still hold up.
• Subjects in the roasts targeted by friends, comedians, family, in memorable and raunchy specials.
• Best roasts include Pamela Anderson, Joan Rivers, and Charlie Sheen's, with memorable moments and controversial performances.

Comedy Central Roasts seem to have gone on hiatus, with the last special being Alec Baldwin's roast in 2019, but the best Comedy Central Roasts still hold up and are endlessly rewatchable. The roasts are known for putting beloved and sometimes controversial celebrities in the spotlight and letting friends, family, comedians, and other entertainers take shots with their best jokes at the subject's expense. Everyone from movie stars to former presidents has sat on stage and let professional comedians mock them.

Sometimes the subjects don't enjoy it quite as much as the audience. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like Comedy Central Roasts will return any time soon much like the network's sketch shows. The series continued internationally on Comedy Central Africa and Comedy Central Netherlands, but the subjects are almost unknown and the specials relatively tame. However, while Comedy Central Roast remains on indefinite hiatus, there are still several old episodes full of tasteless but hilarious jokes that remain satisfyingly offensive.

10 Pamela Anderson (2005)

Roast Master: Jimmy Kimmel

The Roast of Pamela Anderson wasn't the first on the network (it was actually the third) but it was the one to put the series on the map. The special was expectedly raunchy and hilarious, and garnered plenty of attention given the performers who roasted her. The 2005 special features Courtney Love, Hugh Hefner, and Anderson's ex-husband, Tommy Lee. Anderson's history with Tommy Lee, which was depicted in the sometimes inaccurate Pam & Tommy, was unsurprisingly the topic that most of the roasters gravitated toward.

While Anderson saw the humor in most of the roasts, the special was marred by controversy due to the highly inappropriate actions of Andy Dick, where he pretended to be Anderson's plastic surgeon and proceeded to grope her on stage, which was uncomfortable to watch. There's also some discomfort in seeing jokes directed at Courtney Love for being intoxicated though she was reportedly sober for a year at this point. Still, outside of those moments, this is a memorable roast.

9 Rob Lowe (2016)

Roast Master: David Spade

As expected, The Roast of Rob Lowe featured tons of jokes made at the actor's expense, and, for the most part, Lowe was a great sport. That included jokes about his infamous sex tapes. The likes of Saturday Night Live's Pete Davidson, Lowe's Parks and Recreation co-star Amy Poehler, and roast veteran Jeff Ross made up the highlights of this . There was a surprise standout though as musician Jewel, who was a late replacement for Bo Derek, shined with a parody take on "You Were Meant for Me" directed at Lowe's sex tapes.

However, the event was marred thanks to the appearance of Ann Coulter, who was in attendance. Lowe received a verbal beating from the comedians on stage, but it seemed the spotlight was on controversial media pundit Ann Coulter, who was also on stage and tried to roast the actor. Even Lowe threw some blunt jokes at her alongside British comedian Jimmy Carr, who used his pitch-black sense of humor.

8 Donald Trump (2011)

Roast Master: Seth MacFarlane

Donald Trump had his very own roast in 2011, which featured Larry King, Whitney Cummings, Snoop Dogg, and even Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino. There were enough jokes that even had Donald's wife, Melania, hysterically laughing at her husband's expense. The comedians had Trump's reality TV series, The Apprentice, and his chain of hotels in their crosshairs, but they also included digs at Trump's famous hairstyle and his family.

Although the jokes at Trump's expense were memorable and funny, it was the disses aimed at everyone else that stole the show. Everything from Larry King's age to Anthony Jeselnik's lack of fame, to the Jersey Shore were ripped apart in the best way. Although "The Situation" had a set that was much-maligned, everyone else did well and this installment features some tributes to iconic roaster Greg Giraldo.

7 Joan Rivers (2009)

Roast Master: Kathy Griffin

She was one of the very few subjects of a Comedy Central Roast who roasted the other comedians and entertainers more than they roasted her.

If anybody can take a joke at their own expense, it's the late great Joan Rivers. She was one of the very few subjects of a Comedy Central Roast who roasted the other comedians and entertainers more than they roasted her. Though that should've been expected from a comedy icon so large she even got a The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

The comedian has never bitten her tongue and has always spoken her true, unfiltered thoughts, and that was no different in the 2009 roast. Rivers downed two glasses of wine before tossing the glasses behind her. She then smacked Kathy Griffin across the face, which was followed by a mic-drop speech full of great jokes. Greg Giraldo, Jeff Ross, Whitney Cummings, and even Joan's own mother Melissa were among the roasters.

6 David Hasselhoff (2010)

Roast Master: Seth MacFarlane

David Hasselhoff was put in the roast chair in 2010 and received the usual exorbitant amount of insults. Lisa Lamli, Jerry Springer, Hulk Hogan, and Pamela Anderson were among the rosters and there was even an appearance by William Daniels to reprise his voice as KITT from Knight Rider. But one comedian made his presence known by his loud and unique voice.

The iconic and memorable comedian Gilbert Gottfried had enough ammunition for everyone. Though other comedians threw everything they had at Hasselhoff, Gottfried's joke had even Hasselhoff himself nodding and chuckling: “David Hasselhoff is running on the beach in slow motion. What an ***hole! I'll never forget that sight because I haven't been able to open my eyes since.” Hasselhoff even showed off his vocal skills by belting out "This is the Moment" from the Jekyll & Hyde musical that he formerly starred in.

5 Justin Bieber (2015)

Roast Master: Kevin Hart

Justin Bieber was an easy target for any comedian in the 2010s, as he was often the butt of jokes in pop culture for everything from his age to his hairstyle to his antics. He came under heavy fire during his 2015 Comedy Central Roast, which he requested himself (via Will Ferrell also made a surprise appearance as Ron Burgundy from Anchorman.

While the comedians brought their A-game, Bieber's roast was harder to watch than the other specials. Where other subjects saw humor in the jokes, Bieber, who was still young at the time, looked genuinely hurt. This was clear when Hannibal Buress joked, “I hate your music more than Bill Cosby hates my comedy.” It's safe to say the pop star got what he wanted and potentially more.

4 William Shatner (2006)

Roast Master: Jason Alexander

After the success of the Pamela Anderson roast, William Shatner was next in line the following year. Known for his most famous role as Star Trek's Captain James T. Kirk, William Shatner is no stranger to having jokes hurled at him. On top of the jokes dished out by the group of roasters, this special had some great cameos, showing how beloved Shatner is. Audiences were treated to appearances from Leonard Nimoy, Sandra Bullock, Ben Stiller, and more.

While there were plenty of good comedians on stage, it was a strange experience when the late Betty White roasted him since she was always considered such a sweetheart. Shatner's friends and former colleagues might have taken the stage to roast the actor, but the insults dropped were just as off-color as usual. Some of the most off-color jokes came from the Golden Girl herself, along with Shatner's ex-co-star George Takei. Many of Takei's jokes had Shatner's mouth hanging open.

3 Bob Saget (2008)

Roast Master: John Stamos

The late Bob Saget had tons of great TV roles, with the most notable being as Danny Tanner on Full House. Many friends of Saget and fellow comedians had fun spitting vulgar jokes at Saget's expense, many of which had him close to tears of laughter. Those who only knew Saget from Full House were shocked to hear how dirty some of these jokes were though that was fitting of a lot of Saget's comedy away from the iconic sitcom.

Norm McDonald used that to his advantage, avoiding racy jokes and going for intentionally cheesy ones that lined up with Saget's style on America's Funniest Home Videos. That said, the most memorable moment of the Comedy Central Roast was from Saget himself. The actor entered his roast by elevator with two younger women, an old woman fixing her hair, and a goat. As Saget went to take his seat, he stopped and pointed to the goat, and yelled, "Hey, call me!"

2 Charlie Sheen (2011)

Roast Master: Seth MacFarlane

Comedy Central also famously aired this on the same night as Ashton Kutcher's debut on Two and a Half Men, where he was replacing Sheen.

Charlie Sheen is no stranger to being roasted and his special came in 2011 when he was at his most controversial and fresh off his run on Two and a Half Men. This was by far the most successful Comedy Central Roast with 6.4 million viewers (via TV by the Numbers). Since Sheen was more famous than ever at the time and for all the wrong reasons, the roasts wrote themselves.

Many of the jokes revolved around the subject of his use of the word "winning," and controversially poked fun at Sheen's role as Charlie Harper and his over-the-top personal life, which blended into one persona. Comedy Central also famously aired this on the same night as Ashton Kutcher's debut on Two and a Half Men, where he was replacing Sheen. Even if some other roasts had stronger jokes, this one is iconic.

1 James Franco (2013)

Roast Master: Seth Rogen

The of roasters of Franco's 2014 Comedy Central Roast looked like one of his movies. Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen, Bill Hader, Aziz Ansari, and several other regular collaborators aired their grievances with vulgar jokes. With jokes calling out Franco for being "the pretty boy" in most of his roles and how his eyes look like they are always closed, some of the roasters played it safe though the gloves came off when they targeted Franco's pretentiousness.

Among the standout roasters was Andy Samberg, who used a similar technique to Norm McDonald years ago, opting for purposely cheesy roasts that had Bill Hader crying with laughter. Speaking of Hader, he was the MVP of the show as the President of Hollywood, a character that rivals anything he did on Saturday Night Live. Hader reeled off jokes about Franco, mostly focusing on his disastrous hosting of the Oscars in 2011, proving that raunch isn't always needed in a roast.