{"id":2421574,"date":"2026-05-18T10:39:02","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T10:39:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2421574"},"modified":"2026-05-18T10:39:02","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T10:39:02","slug":"lgbtq-comedians-are-redefining-roasts-as-an-art-form-in-west-hollywood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/lgbtq-comedians-are-redefining-roasts-as-an-art-form-in-west-hollywood\/","title":{"rendered":"LGBTQ+ comedians are redefining roasts as an art form in West Hollywood"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Gay comedian Sam Oh peered over to his roastee, Julian Stern, and prepared his first stream of jabs at his straight counterpart. After whipping through a few jokes about his appearance and occupation, he paused and looked to the audience at Beaches Tropicana nightclub in West Hollywood.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh wow, I actually learned right now that I really love roasting,\u201d he remarked. \u201cI\u2019ve never been happier.\u201d<\/p>\n

He quickly returned his gaze to Stern for another quip.<\/p>\n

At \u201cQueer Roast for the Straight Hosts<\/u><\/a>,\u201d this dynamic is common. The monthly comedy show invites queer comics to roast straight comics in between stand-up sets and dares ranging from re-creating \u201cHeated Rivalry\u201d to dressing up (or down) in outlandish seasonal outfits. It\u2019s a very gay time that challenges queer comics to test their skills in roasting (a straight-dominated style of comedy) and welcomes straight comics into a community of artists and audiences outside of their primary demographic. <\/p>\n

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Avery Merrifield and Brandon Chau on stage at \u201cQueer Roast for the Straight Hosts.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Rob Flo)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

After celebrating its first anniversary in November, \u201cQueer Roast for the Straight Hosts\u201d has successfully brought together a powerhouse of comedians, including Jenny Yang, Brendan Scannell, Liz Blanc, Guy Branum and Paige Gallagher, among others. Andrew Stier created the event to build community as a gay comedian trying to find his footing in Los Angeles. As the show progressed, he recognized that \u201cQueer Roast for the Straight Hosts\u201d had become an opportunity for LGBTQ+ comedians to grow artistically and build their audience one roast at a time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted something that was going to help unite us with other stand-up comics and not separate us, so that someone who\u2019s growing through my show is growing in the actual stand-up scene, not just in the secluded corner of queer stand-up that they\u2019re allowed to perform in,\u201d Stier said.<\/p>\n

\u201cQueer Roast\u201d was inspired by advice Stier received from Zach Zimmerman, a gay comedian he looked up to. After one of his shows in Seattle (where Stier previously lived), Zimmerman told him that he should start a show with his peers, because that\u2019s how most comedians build their network and artistry. He pocketed the idea. Shortly after, he came across a clip on social media of Carson Olshansky, a New York-based trans comic, roasting. It was the first time Stier witnessed a queer person roast.<\/p>\n

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Stier and Merrifield on stage at \u201cQueer Roast for the Straight Hosts.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Rob Flo)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

By nature, roasting tends to be unwelcoming to queer people. Traditionally, the style focuses on making jabs at someone\u2019s appearance or identity, welcoming hurtful comments that punch down on someone when done without thoughtfulness.<\/p>\n

\u201cOther places might be like, \u2018Oh, you\u2019re gay,\u2019\u201d Stier said. \u201cIt\u2019s like, OK, well, it\u2019s not a flaw.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Stier watches queer comics roast, there is a stronger sense of empathy and playfulness. As a marginalized community, they\u2019ve dealt with the punches and discriminatory language. Therefore, they have a better idea of what boundaries not to cross. As a result, \u201cQueer Roast for the Straight Hosts\u201d makes roasting a safer, more relaxed environment because \u201cwe\u2019re still able to punch and we\u2019re still able to have fun, but we\u2019re not saying anything that\u2019s truly cruel,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The first show was one giant experiment. Once he had the idea, he just needed the venue. He turned to his college friend, Bryan Philip Cruz, one of the Pack Theater\u2019s artistic directors, to use the venue.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur goal is to find more diverse voices, to give them a platform, an opportunity to be their creative outlet,\u201d Cruz said. \u201cSo if people want to put on a queer roast, we\u2019re a hundred percent supportive of it, and I wanted to do whatever I could to make the show as successful as possible because, I mean, it\u2019s a great idea.\u201d<\/p>\n

The rundown of the show was still unknown. Stier wanted there to be six stand-up sets, mirroring other comedy shows like Shannon Cloud\u2019s, but he wanted to mix up the flow with breaks between the sets. He felt \u201cQueer Roast for the Straight Hosts\u201d naturally sounded like \u201cQueer Eye for the Straight Guy,\u201d so he decided to roast with mock makeovers in the true \u201cQueer Eye\u201d fashion. For example, Kyle Prue\u2019s social media followers often comment on his tiny ears, so in his makeover, Stier gave him a wig to cover them up. The short break for hilarious antics evolved into more elaborate dares that are now essential to \u201cQueer Roast.\u201d In their January show, Cruz and Stern had to re-create the entirety of \u201cHeated Rivalry\u201d from memory, even though Cruz had only seen a few episodes and Stern had seen none. The result was comedic chaos.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was the most fun I\u2019d had doing comedy in a while,\u201d Stier said. \u201cOften, improv comedy feels like play, and stand-up comedy feels like work. It\u2019s very rare for me to do a stand-up show where I get the same high as I get from doing an improv show, but this show, I get that same high.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roasts are often conflated with competition, but that\u2019s not what \u201cQueer Roast\u201d is. Stier took inspiration from the \u201cTech Roast Show\u201d in Seattle. In the show, tech professionals who also do comedy turn the roastee into a guest of honor. It\u2019s easy to think of shows like \u201cComedy Central Roast\u201d when it comes to roasting, considering the style a battle. However, it doesn\u2019t have to be.<\/p>\n

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Comedian Kimberly Clark at \u201cQueer Roast For the Straight Hosts.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Rob Flo)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

\u201cI had one friend who came to a show, and he said he really liked it because it\u2019s not a competition,\u201d Stier said. \u201cIt made it so that you get more of an honest reaction of when people think something\u2019s funny, because otherwise, the person getting roasted is afraid to admit that it\u2019s funny because of the competition element.\u201d<\/p>\n

To keep this element alive, Stier introduced a volunteer audience member who could sign up ahead of time to get roasted on stage alongside the professional comedians. They become a guest of honor. \u201cWhere else are you going to be able to go somewhere and watch your friend get roasted on stage by a bunch of gay people?\u201d Stier said.<\/p>\n

Since \u201cQueer Roast\u2019s\u201d start at the Pack, shows have ventured to the Elysian Theater, Fallout Theater in Austin, Texas, and are slowly making a home at Beaches Tropicana. The show is Stier\u2019s passion project that has evolved into something bigger. During the day, he works in tech. Having a set schedule made this evening endeavor more plausible. He fully funds the shows, and, like many business ventures, \u201cQueer Roast\u201d is still in the red financially. However, the arrangement at Beaches, where he gets 10% of ticket sales while the venue pays comics and comps the venue fee, makes \u201cQueer Roasts\u2019\u201d future brighter.<\/p>\n

He attributes the growing success to the help he\u2019s received from friends and peers. When \u201cQueer Roast\u201d started, his friend Ben Kaplan took videos for social media. Then, his friend Jessica Ramirez offered her copywriting skills to help with social media and email blasts. Now, Beaches produces the fliers for each show.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not making money off this, and so it\u2019s nice when other people step forward and are like, \u2018Hey, I want to help you out,\u2019\u201d Stier said. \u201cI think that\u2019s how a lot of comedy shows end up gathering people because people see the effort you\u2019re making.\u201d <\/p>\n

During the January show, comics Oh, Shannon Hardy and River Butcher roasted their straight counterparts Stern, Blanc and Martin Rizo. For many, this was the first time they had ever met, but the environment created by \u201cQueer Roast\u201d helped bridge the worlds of these comics who most likely wouldn\u2019t have met otherwise.<\/p>\n

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Comedian Dylan Adler performs at \u201cQueer Roast for the Straight Hosts.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Rob Flo)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

\u201cAs a woman in comedy, it is still a boys\u2019 club,\u201d Hardy said. \u201cYou go into a green room, and it\u2019s not a lot of space. It\u2019s kind of sticky. To go into a green room [here] and be like, \u2018I\u2019m gonna put my curlers in and vent about the fact that my hair feels like hay today because I\u2019m blond and need a filter for my shower head,\u2019 it\u2019s a very welcoming environment, and everyone is so normal and chill and just down to earth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stier not only achieved his goal to connect with comedians he looked up to, but he also curated a new environment in comedy. For Rizo, he seldom travels from East L.A. to West Hollywood. Through the show he\u2018s immersed himself in a community he rarely encountered at his shows, and as a result, he witnessed a new sensibility of humor honed by the LGBTQ+ community.<\/p>\n

The comics who participate range from newcomers to talent with credits on \u201cSaturday Night Live\u201d and late-night shows. Cruz explained that \u201cQueer Roast\u201d enhances the art landscape in L.A. by representing an instance of someone taking a leap of faith to make something new with the local comedy scene.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are expecting a really small, dinky, unprofessional show, and they get comedy gold,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is raw talent that\u2019s coming from real people here in Los Angeles.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n