Nikki Glaser pans Ben Affleck’s set at Tom Brady Netflix roast: ‘He didn’t prepare’

Hollywood star is ‘famous enough he probably thinks it’s beneath him to do this’, comedian says

Nikki Glaser has weighed in on Ben Affleck’s unconvincing performance at Tom Brady’s recent Netflix roast, suggesting the A-list actor was underprepared for the event.

The roast, titled The Greatest Roast of All Time: Tom Brady, saw an impressive lineup of comics and celebrities, including reality television star Kim Kardashian, actor Will Ferrell, and comedians Tony Hinchcliffe and Kevin Hart, all of whom delivered strong sets that were well-received by the audience.

Affleck was the odd one out as his performance bombed – something that was entirely his own fault, according to Nikki Glaser, who suggested the actor must have showed up without preparation because he thought he was too “famous” to do so.

“I haven’t watched it again, like how it looked, because I don’t like to watch people bomb,” the comedian said on the Barstool Sports podcast KFC Radio.

“He didn’t prepare. He’s someone who’s famous enough he probably thinks it’s beneath him to do this. Like, ‘I’m just gonna do a favour, it’s not gonna be that big of a deal.’”

“And then you do it and you go, ‘Oh! This is way bigger than I thought it was going to be. I’m just kind of phoning it in,” Glaser added.

The comedian said Affleck’s set hinged on a singular premise, which meant that if one joke didn’t land with the audience, his entire set would go the same way.

“He probably had a pitch to the writers, probably of like, ‘Maybe I do an angle where I’m mad about tweets?’ Because that’s his thing,” Glaser said.

“There were so many jokes that didn’t get used that could’ve filled up an entire set of his that would’ve been amazing, but either they couldn’t get him on the phone enough to work out something, he didn’t practise enough or he just picked a bad premise and then he had to stick to it the whole time,” she added. “He just picked a bad premise and he had to stick to it the whole time.”

“It didn’t work right away, so it’s not gonna work later... if your joke bombs, you’re onto the next one. That’s probably what he should’ve done.”

Tom Brady and Ben Affleck speak onstage at the Tom Brady Netflix roast on 5 May 2024 in Inglewood, California. (Getty)

Affleck seemed to realise his set was not going well as he went on a six-minute monologue calling out social media users who criticise Brady.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get this chance again,” he said. “I’m probably never going to work again, actually, after tonight.”

“Fans have your back. You guys out there talking s**t, all right, behind your f***ing keyboard, that doesn’t make you a fan. That makes you a b****,” he said, to very little reaction from the audience.

Brady has said he wouldn’t participate in something like the roast again because of the effect it had on his children.

“I loved when the jokes were about me. I thought they were so fun,” he said.

“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 realise I wouldn’t do that again because of the way that affected actually the people that I care about most in the world.”