Photo: Gianmarco Soresi/Youtube
Without question, the most watched and discussed piece of comedy released this year was The Roast of Kevin Hart, which aired on Netflix in May. Whether this is a positive or negative indication of where the comedy industry is heading is one of the many topics comics Gianmarco Soresi and Jay Jurden discuss in this year’s annual State of the Industry address at Montréal’s Just For Laughs festival. Well, actually, rather than discussing the roast, they roast it — along with many of the comedians who participated (Shane Gillis, Tony Hinchcliffe, etc.), comedians who generate controversy like Louis C.K. and Dave Chappelle, comedians with bad politics like Jerry Seinfeld and Nate Bargatze, and even beloved comedians and comedy platforms quietly minding their business like Josh Johnson and Dropout. “Kevin Hart produced and starred in the roast of himself, where the most famous people in the world got a chance to make fun of his height,” Soresi says in the address. “Although I heard the thing he’s really short on is money to keep people employed at Hartbeat productions.”
The State of the Industry address is a time-honored JFL tradition, which began in 1995 and was hosted by veteran curmudgeon Andy Kindler until 2023, when comedian Jessica Kirson briefly took it over. “Moment of silence for Andy Kindler,” Soresi says at one point in the address, which took place July 23. “He’s not dead,” Jurden clarifies. “He just doesn’t have 100,000 followers, so they didn’t bring him back.” His joke hints at the other purpose of the address, which is to examine the health of the ecosystem in which comedians seek their livelihood and hold it to a higher standard. And currently, Jurden and Soresi believe, the state of the industry is one of “decay,” in which even agents and managers are struggling to eke out a living:“There’s not a lot of money in 10 percent of SubwayTakes,” Soresi jokes. “The TV and film industry is so dead, the last big thing they shot in America was Charlie Kirk.”
If all this sounds a little self-righteous, rest assured Jurden and Soresi don’t spare themselves. “We’re like Michael Che and Colin Jost if all the people online calling them faggots were correct,” jokes Jurden at the beginning of the address. It’s a take-no-prisoners set in which two of the most prolific joke writers working today set out to feed the public’s insatiable appetite for shit talk and deliver a ten-course Michelin-star meal. Watch Jurden and Soresi’s full 38-minute-long (!) set and read some of their best roasts below.
Soresi: “Shane made some major headlines last week for selling 76,212 tickets for his comedy show at the Eagles stadium in Philadelphia. And if you do the math — 76,000 tickets times 80 bucks a pop — that comes out to more than $6 million dollars in missed child support.”
Jurden: “The Guinness World Records recorded it as the largest cross burning in the world. Good — it’s about time Canada got some smoke from America.”
Jurden: “Some people say that [Neal Brennan] is the Gianmarco Soresi to my Dave Chappelle. And by ‘my Dave Chappelle,’ what I mean by that is, after this, I’m getting drunk and hitting on so many trans women.”
Soresi: “Speaking of transitions, I, for one, can’t wait for Chappelle to transition back to comedy.”
Jurden: “His last special was so long-winded, I thought he was copying Josh Johnson.”
Soresi: “We’ve got a lot of Tony jokes. We have more than he’s ever written, actually. Look, everyone’s seen Kill Tony, but nobody has ever seen Tony kill.”
Jurden: “Tony Hinchcliffe impressively had the worst Netflix special I’ve ever seen — since the last Tony Hinchcliffe special.”
Soresi: “Did he film the new one in Montréal? Because it had just four laughs.”
Jurden: “Also, ladies: If you want to see Tony deliver a punch that actually lands, just go on a date with him.”
Soresi: “Allegedly.”
Soresi: “Theo Von’s a tricky one because, despite the many things he’s done and his whole stand-up comedy career, he has spoken up for Palestinians. Which means there actually is worse representation for Palestine than Hamas.”
Soresi: “Bill Maher won the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. Very well deserved because Bill Maher goes after both sides: He’ll suck Trump’s cock and eat his ass.”
Jurden: “At least when Mark Twain said the N-word, it was funny. I know we joke, but Bill Maher has done a lot for the Black community. Specifically the Black female sex-worker community.”
Jurden: “Louis C.K. is back with a new Netflix special. It’s a real cum-rags-to-riches story. Hey, you guys, it’s a different time — it’s 2026. Now if you want to expose yourself to people who don’t want to watch, you have to call it the ‘L.A. clown scene.’”
Soresi: “You hear that, clowns? That’s a joke.”
Jurden: “We shouldn’t go too hard on late-night shows because Trump already has.”
Soresi: “That’s right. Donald Trump got Stephen Colbert taken off the air, which so many of us had already done with the power of our remote controls.”
Jurden: “But, hey, Jimmy Kimmel survived.”
Soresi: “So what? Kimmel cried more over Charlie Kirk than Erika did.”
Jurden: “More liquid came out of his eyes than Charlie’s neck.”
Soresi: “I personally love that Jimmy Kimmel and Adam Carolla are still friends because sometimes you need to put politics aside and come together over your mutual love of money.”
Soresi: “Nate Bargatze — or as some people now call him, Jeff Fox-newsworthy — betrayed a lot of his fans when he showed up at a UFC match on the White House lawn. But it wasn’t nearly as bad as when he told his fans to see his new movie, The Breadwinner, in theaters. Breadwinner was so bad people were praising ’s performance.”
Jurden: “I loved Breadwinner. It’s nice to see proof that it’s possible to make a movie the whole family can hate.”
Soresi: “Real quick — round of applause if you saw Breadwinner. I’ll give a synopsis: Breadwinner is the story of a man being left to take care of three young girls. It was actually originally slated to be a horror movie starring Chris D’Elia.”
Soresi: “I’ve always been a Seinfeld fan who needs to clarify I’m talking about the show. Seinfeld said Palestine doesn’t exist, which in my opinion, is the worst a former cast member of Seinfeld has ever said on stage. Jerry Seinfeld was heckled several times by pro-Palestinian protesters, but honestly, I think they were just trying to get him to do some new material. Although who wants to hear Jerry’s political material? He’s going to be like, ‘Occupy? Why can’t we occu-strudel?’”
Jurden: “Dropout’s doing amazing things. Finally there’s a comedy hub for people too afraid to make eye contact with their baristas. I love Dropout. Dropout proves comedy doesn’t need to punch down. Or be funny.”
Jurden: “Chris is known for the most inside-baseball jokes performed for people who don’t know the rules of baseball.”
Soresi: “His special really incited a lot of conversations, like explaining to my mom why this is funny.”
Soresi: “Congrats to everyone who competed. I did think it was weird that Keegan-Michael Key was one of the judges for a stand-up comedy show. I would sooner trust his opinion on wives.”
Jurden: “I don’t need an agent; I need a 15-year-old girl who knows the algorithm of TikTok.”
Soresi: “Unfortunately, she’s already with Jeff Ross.”
Jurden: “Okay, another one: I don’t need an agent; I need a 14-year-old girl who knows the algorithm of TikTok.”
Soresi: “Unfortunately, Woody Allen just adopted her.”
Jurden: “One more: I don’t need an agent; I need a 17-year-old girl … I’m starting to think this industry has a problem.”
Soresi: “Yeah. And we’ve already made enough jokes about Seinfeld.”
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