It’s been over thirty years since the notorious 1993 Friars Club roast, and Ted Danson is still addressing one of his career’s most controversial moments. He meant to make a sharp, satirical point about interracial relationships, but it became a PR disaster when he got up on stage in blackface.
Though Danson prepared the routine with then-partner Whoopi Goldberg for months, the instant backlash was harsh—like sticking his finger “in a light socket.” To make it right, Danson has said he’ll keep apologizing for the rest of his life, because younger generations keep seeing that footage and feeling let down.
Ted Danson Viewed The Routine As Satire On Race Relations
On a podcast episode with W. Kamau Bell called Who’s With Me? Ted Danson talked about the infamous roast of Whoopi Goldberg. He said he believed the roast routine was a satirical commentary on race.
“So my brain was going, okay, here is one of the most outrageous, funny Black women in the world at that point,” Danson said, adding, “I’m supposed to be roasting her, and I’m not a stand-up.”
He aimed for a commentary on interracial relationships, as he was dating Goldberg at the time. Danson truly believed he was being provocative and thoughtful with his material. But then things took a terrible turn.
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After looking at other comedians’ works, he bizarrely decided blackface was the answer. “I looked at all these tapes, and it’s like, well, if I were Black, I could say all these outrageous things. I’m not,” Danson explained, reflecting on his misguided logic.
So while Danson thought he’d be praised for his bold satirical statement, he ended up disgraced. It was a severe misjudgment on his part, despite good initial intentions.
More Than 30 Years Later, Danson Is Still Apologizing
Danson thought he was doing satire, but barely minutes into his performance, he knew something had gone terribly wrong. He recalled that the experience felt as though he had “stuck my finger in a light socket.”
A big part of the crowd just didn’t get what he was going for. Instead of the clever jokes, people hated the routine. Looking back over thirty years later, Danson still feels upset about that night. He revealed how even now, people online discover the story and lash out at him.
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“I need to, and I want to apologize for the rest of my life,” Danson admitted, “because somebody today can go on the internet and go, ‘What the f—? Yeah. Wow, I feel betrayed, I feel angry, and whatever.’ And I did that.”
The 1993 roast is still seen as one of the most contentious gigs of his career. Now, Danson looks back at it more from a place of responsibility for how others felt rather than making excuses for his questionable decision-making.
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