Days after Netflix wrapped The Roast of Kevin Hart, sources revealed the A-lister the streamer had originally targeted for the hot seat.
According to Variety, Paul McCartney was the first choice to follow up on Tom Brady’s The Greatest Roast of All Time, before the streamer landed on Hart. The “Roastmaster General” himself, Jeff Ross, who executive-produced the comedy special, confirmed the report.
“We did ask Paul McCartney at one point. To me, that would be a fantasy roast,” Ross, 60, told the site on Tuesday. “Paul McCartney doesn’t need anything, but a Paul McCartney roast would be good for the world. It would be so funny to me because he is so loved.”
The Beatle, 83, whose comedic timing is almost as well known as his music, flatly turned down the offer.
Neither Netflix nor representatives for McCartney responded to the Daily Beast’s requests for comment.
McCartney was not the only A-Lister to be targeted by Netflix to turn down the opportunity. Will Smith was reportedly “informally approached” by Netflix for the follow-up roast to Brady, according to Puck News. Smith, 57, was tapped for the roast as a mutually beneficial endeavor, giving him a chance to rehabilitate his image after his infamous Oscars slap incident.
Ross, who seared Hart at Sunday’s roast, told the Daily Beast that getting a guest to agree to the roast can frequently be more challenging than writing the jokes themselves.
"INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - MAY 05: (L-R) Kim Kardashian and Jeff Ross speak onstage during G.R.O.A.T The Greatest Roast Of All Time: Tom Brady for the Netflix is a Joke Festival at The Kia Forum on May 05, 2024 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for Netflix)"
Matt Winkelmeyer“There’s always people that you dream about, and they’re not ready,” Ross said on Obsessed: The Podcast days before Hart’s roast. “You never get a ‘No, never’ because celebrities, especially superstars, they kind of fantasize about being the center of attention, even when there’s a target on them.”
“So you never get a ‘No, never,’ but sometimes you get ‘Not now,’ and I’m OK with that because I’ve been doing this a long time. I’m happy to wait,” he said.
Despite the challenges, Netflix—and previously Comedy Central—have pinned down some of pop culture’s most notable figures for a roasting. Donald Trump, Justin Bieber, Pamela Anderson, and Alec Baldwin all sat for the comedic grilling.
For Hart’s roast on Sunday, Ross relished the opportunity to get his “revenge” on the frequent roaster.
“He was really mean,” Ross said of Hart’s roast of Brady. “He was really mean last time, to me, to Tom. I was there, I talked Tom into it, and then Kevin was so freaking vicious.”
“So now, Kevin has agreed to be roasted,” he continued. “And I’m like, ‘OK. The swords are out. This is gonna be no holds barred.’”
Come Sunday, Ross burned the comedian again and again, particularly for his frequent collaborations with Dwayne Johnson.
“Your dad was a street hustler and addicted to crack cocaine,” Ross said during the roast. “So, I guess being dependent on the Rock runs in your family.”
