Dennis Rodman's Bomb Joke Draws Ire at Bruce Willis Roast

Dennis Rodman was not supposed to be the target of the Comedy Central Roast of Bruce Willis, but [...]

By Daniel S. Levine

Dennis Rodman was not supposed to be the target of the Comedy Central Roast of Bruce Willis, but he might as well have been after he bombed on stage with a poorly-received North Korea joke.

Fans at home were just as stunned by the unfunny jab as those in the audience.

During the roast, which was taped on July 14 and aired Sunday night, the Basketball Hall of Famer did not do much joking about Willis. As USA Today pointed out, Rodman seemed to fill that usual "why are they here?" spot Comedy Central includes during these roasts.

"I've never done this before," Rodman told the audience. He then compared Willis' "bomb movies" to the real bombs "at least Kim (Jong Un) is smart enough not to release."

As the audience booed, Rodman appeared to realize he was not doing so well. "Aw, this sucks, doesn't it?" he said.

Comedy Central Roast regular Jeff Ross made fun of Rodman's affinity for the North Korean dictator by dressing as Kim Jong-Un on the red carpet and posing for photos with Rodman.

Rodman was also the punchline of sick burns from roasters Martha Stewart and Dom Irrera.

"When I look at Dennis Rodman, I immediately think of the n-word. Nuclear war," Stewart joked. "If you told me back in the '90s that Dennis would be negotiating a nuclear disarmament treaty with North Korea in 2018, I would have thought, 'Dennis Rodman is alive in 2018?'"

"Dennis Rodman, you look like the genie when you rub a magic crack pipe," Irrera said.

In his own speech at the end of the event, Willis also took jabs at his roasters and the formula many of his own movies follow.

"If you're a fan of Bruce Willis movies and I know you are, then you know how this works. I get the s— beat out of me for about an hour and a half, and then at the end I come back and whip everybody's a–," Willis said.

After the show, Willis told reporters he "thought I dislocated my jaw because I was laughing so hard," reports Variety.

Other roasters included Demi Moore, Edward Norton, Lil Rel Howery, Cybill Shepherd, Kevin Pollak, Nikki Glaser and Jeff Ross. Willis' Looper co-star Joseph Gordon-Levitt hosted.

Photo credit: Tommaso Boddi/WireImage/Getty Images

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