Tom Brady enjoyed being the focus of a three-hour, star-studded Netflix roast… just don't ask him to do another one.
In a new interview after the special streamed earlier this month, Brady told the Pivot Podcast that while he personally didn't mind being the fodder of most of the jokes — ranging from the Deflategate and Spygate controversies to Aaron Hernandez and his ex-wife Gisele Bundchen — he didn't foresee the impact it would have on his family, specifically his kids.
“I loved when the jokes were about me, I thought they were so fun. I didn't like the way it affected my kids,” Brady said in the podcast that premiered Tuesday. “It's the hardest part about — the bittersweet aspect of — when you do something that you think is one way and then all of a sudden you realize, I wouldn't do that again because of the way that it affected, actually, the people that I care about the most in the world.”
He continued, “It makes you, in some ways, a better parent going through it. Sometimes you are naïve. You don't know, or you get a little like, 'Oh shit'… You just don't see the full picture all the time. So I think it's a good lesson for me as a parent. I'm going to be a better parent as I go forward because of it.”
In what was the roast's most awkward moment, Brady interrupted “roastmaster” Jeff Ross' appearance after the comedian cracked a quip about New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft's massage parlor scandal. “Don't say that shit again,” Brady was overheard telling Ross after leaving his chair to confront the comedian mid-roast.
Despite the exchange, Brady was complimentary of Ross on the Pivot Podcast, even suggesting that Ross was one of the reasons he signed up for the roast. “When I was going through all the Deflategate stuff in 2015, 2016, I watched three things on TV: I watched Premier League soccer, I watched golf, and I watched comedy shows because every time I turned on SportsCenter, I was like, ' Are you fucking kidding me?' So I was like, I just want to laugh,” Brady said. “So I wanted to do the roast because the guy Jeff Ross became someone that I knew.”
While Brady won't do another roast, he'll be back on television on a more regular basis starting in December. Fox officially announced the legendary quarterback as part of their broadcast team Tuesday. Brady is set to make his debut when the Dallas Cowboys play the Cleveland Browns on September 8.