Jeff Ross is opening up about the tense on-stage moment between himself and Tom Brady on Sunday at Netflix’s “Greatest Roast of All Time,” where the comedian cracked a Robert Kraft “massage” joke.
During an appearance Monday on “The Rich Eisen Show,” Ross — who was one of several comedians that laid into the seven-time Super Bowl champion at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif. — was asked about the apparent scolding from Brady, who told Ross: “Don’t say that s–t again.”
“Come on, come on, no way, no way,” Ross said to Eisen. “He’s having fun. You know, it’s like that’s his dad. Robert Kraft is like a father figure to him, he was just showing his love for Robert Kraft.”
In one of the most talked-about moments of the night, Ross took a jab at Kraft, the Patriots’ 82-year-old owner, when discussing Brady joining the team back in 2000.
“Tom became a Patriot, moved up to New England, and on the first day of training camp, that scrawny rookie famously walked into the owner Robert Kraft’s office and said ‘I’m the best decision your organization has ever made,'” Ross said. “Would you like a massage?”
Ross then blew a kiss to Kraft in the audience as Brady, 46, rose from his seat and walked over to the podium.
Warning: Explicit language
The 58-year-old comedian said Monday that he and Kraft “had a great talk afterwards.”
“He was so happy that I gave him a shoutout and a salute, it was beautiful,” Ross told Eisen.
Kraft was accused of soliciting prostitution in early 2019 following an investigation into Florida-area massage parlors.
He pleaded not guilty and issued an apology in March of that year.
“I am truly sorry. I know I have hurt and disappointed my family, my close friends, my co-workers, our fans and many others who rightfully hold me to a higher standard,” Kraft said in a statement at the time.
“Throughout my life, I have always tried to do the right thing. The last thing I would ever want to do is disrespect another human being.”
Ross wasn’t the only attendee pressed on the moment Monday.
When appearing on the “Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz,” former Patriots quarterback Drew Bledsoe — who taunted Brady about his divorce from Gisele Bündchen during the roast — said the interaction between Ross and the three-time NFL MVP was “authentic.”
“We’re sitting up there on the stage, so I can see the teleprompter, I can see what’s scripted and what’s not, and that was not scripted. Tom came up to make sure they weren’t getting after our buddy, RKK [Robert Kenneth Kraft]. He’s a guy that both Tom and I have true and genuine affection for. I didn’t think he was going to be there, I didn’t know he was going to be there until just before the show last night, just specifically so they would stay out of some of that stuff with him,” Bledsoe said.
“That was not scripted. That was Tom actually genuinely coming to his defense.”
Brady spent the first 20 years of his career in New England, winning six Super Bowls with the Patriots.
He departed for the Buccaneers in free agency in 2020 and won his final championship in 2021.
Brady called it a career last February after 23 seasons.
