A spokesperson for Comedy Central said that the jokes, told by comedians Jeff Ross and Pete Davidson, crossed the line and won’t air.
The Associated Press
Kevork Djansezian / Reuters
The comedians at Comedy Central's roast of Justin Bieber didn't hold back when it came to teasing the young pop star, but some jokes were deemed too offensive to air.
But two jokes — one by comedian Jeff Ross, the other from Saturday Night Live cast member Pete Davidson — about the late actor Paul Walker won't play when the roast airs on Comedy Central later this week, a spokesperson for the channel announced Tuesday.
"Roasts often push the limits of good taste and we give the participants full rein to try things knowing we have the edit to shape the show," a Comedy Central spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter. "Sometimes the line is discovered by crossing it. The Paul Walker references will not be in the telecast."
The Fast & Furious actor was riding in a high-performance Porsche that crashed at a high rate of speed in 2013 north of Los Angeles. The car burst into flames, killing Walker and his friend, Roger Rodas, who was driving.
The crash stunned Hollywood and shocked Walker's legions of fans.
In his joke at Bieber's roast, Ross referenced the tree that the Porsche slammed into.
"'Move bitch, get out of the way,' that's what Paul Walker should have told that tree," Ross joked. When it didn't go over well, he added: "Too soon? Too fast? Too furious? Give me a break people, I'm trying to save this kid's life."
Rapper Ludacris, whose hit song "Move Bitch" was used in the set up of the joke, co-starred with Walker in the Fast and Furious film series, and reportedly motioned for the cameras to cut as Ross was telling the joke.
Ross, who recently changed his Twitter profile picture to an image of him with Bieber, said that he was "so in the moment, I don't know what jokes hit."
Davidson also reportedly used the Walker incident to roast Bieber, telling the crowd: "Just this past year, Justin got arrested for drag racing. Unfortunately, it wasn't with Paul Walker. What? He's doing great! He's got a movie coming out!"
As it so happened, Davidson himself became a target at the roast when he was included in this zinger, also from Ross: "The only person who ever inhaled more smoke than Snoop Dogg was Pete Davidson's dad in the World Trade Center… And I'm sorry, Shaq — I know that was one of your favorite buildings to climb."
Davidson lost his father, who was a firefighter, during the terrorist attacks on 9/11.
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