I don’t want to hear another man tell Kim Kardashian to close her legs-Laura Harman-Entertainment – Metro

Misogynistic jokes about Kim Kardashian were made at The Roast of Tom Brady (Picture: Netflix / X)

The Roast of Tom Brady streamed live on Netflix in the US on Sunday, 5 May, and it wasn’t the former football star who got the brunt of the jokes. 

Yes, the main target seemed to be Kim Kardashian, who had to suffer the same old sexist ‘banter’. 

Her treatment during the show highlighted the comedy world’s problem with misogyny as she was repeatedly objectified and became more of a caricature than a participant in the show. 

And before I hear the argument, that ‘it was a roast’ and ‘she signed up for it,’ no one deserves to be treated like that – regardless of fame or their dating history. 

Of course, comedy roasts are generally uncomfortable ordeals, with A-listers placing themselves on the chopping block to be ridiculed for three hours as they try to smile through the discomfort – because who doesn’t love joking about their recent divorce on live TV?

But The Roast of Tom Brady was a different kettle of fish with a lack of comedy and a generous portion of sexism served to Netflix viewers.

Kim Kardashian was torn apart by low rent comedians with odd, slut-shaming jokes while in comparison, Tom Brady was mocked for his athletic ability and Kevin Hart for his height.

Tony Hinchcliffe’s disgusting comments about the reality star truly summed up the offensive nature of the comedy on display. 

He said, referencing a line from Anchorman, whose star Will Ferrell made an appearance: ‘A whale’s vagina, which reminds me, Kim Kardashian’s here. She’s had a lot of black men celebrating her endzone. 

‘Kim, word of advice, close your legs. You have more public beef than Kendrick and Drake.’

Jokes comparing a woman’s vagina to an animal or inanimate object are sadly nothing new (Picture: X / Netflix)

On hearing this, the SKIMS founder had a fixed smile on her face as she laughed along with the crowd. 

Jokes comparing a woman’s vagina to an animal or inanimate object are sadly nothing new, but they are extremely outdated – and roast or not, it’s past time we stopped putting up with them.

A woman being told to ‘close her legs’ on live television in 2024 is a blow and a painful reminder to women that no matter how much money, power, or influence you have, you are just a sex object to many who will happily refer to your genitals more times than they will use your name.

Kim was seen holding arms with Jeff Ross at the roast (Picture: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for Netflix)

To be clear, this is not to say that sex wasn’t a topic of conversation at this roast, or out of bounds for just women. Kim herself made a few self-referential jokes that hinted at her sex life.

The reality star joked that Kevin Hart was the ‘smallest black d*** I’ve ever seen’ and even poked fun at her infamous sex tape that was released in 2007. 

Joking about dating Tom Brady the reality TV star said: ‘I know there were some rumours that we were [dating], and I’d never say if we did or not – I’d just release a tape.’

But the key difference between the jokes that Kim made and the ones from other comedians, is that she made them herself, on her own terms. 

In Kim’s jokes, her punchline was the fact that she has a famous dating history, not that she should be ashamed of her past or it should be used as a weapon to degrade her.

The fashion designer is friends with Tom Brady (Picture: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for Netflix)

It’s bizarre that the comedians decided to only make gross jokes about her body, when there’s a wealth of information about the reality star in the public forum, meaning there’s a lot of fresh material to pull comedy from.

Why not bring up some of the controversies over her business brands or fashion choices? Or hold her accountable for some of the bizarre stuff she’s said over the years?

I assume it was because she is a beautiful, successful billionaire that these men needed to degrade her in order to get a laugh. Clearly, making fun of her personality rather than just her vagina was too close to treating her like an equal.

The celebrity has been famous for nearly two decades (Picture: Chris Polk/WWD/Penske Media via Getty Images)

Kim isn’t the first woman to become the victim of boring misogyny during comedy shows – and sadly, she won’t be the last. 

Too often, on these type of shows, a token women (or two) are invited purely to be slut-shamed or to be deemed ‘unf**kable’ by the fellow male cast members.

It seems to happen on every show: on the Roast of Alec Baldwin in 2019, Oscar-winner Robert De Niro made similarly dehumanising comments about Nikki Glaser’s vagina. 

Unfortunately, until the public decides that the objectification of women isn’t a good form of comedy, it seems unlikely that this format will change. 

With no solutions on offer, let’s hope that future roasters have the good sense to learn from this event’s backlash – and that we all start treating women, no matter how famous, as more than their body parts. 

But I’m not holding out any hope.

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