NFL players react to brutality of Tom Brady roast after three hours of controversial jokes

Several former football players believe "The Roast of Tom Brady " was a win for the NFL icon and Netflix - as well as a catalyst for a cultural shift in comedy .

The seven-time Super Bowl winner was honored live on the streaming service through a special on May 4 as part of the " Netflix is a Joke" comedy festival in Los Angeles. Brady, Hollywood heavy-hitters Kevin Hart and Casey Patterson, and self-proclaimed professional roaster Jeff Ross executive produced the event.

The three-hour event was a star-studded affair, featuring a who's who of comedians like Ross, Bert Kreischer , Tom Segura, Andrew Schulz, and more, all taking turns to roast Brady. Adding to the excitement, special guests Kim Kardashian , Ben Affleck, and the UFC 's Dana White and Max Holloway, also joined in the fun.

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The event was brimmed with unfiltered comedy, showcasing Kardashian's struggle to charm the audience while toasting Brady and featuring jokes about O.J. Simpson and Kanye West. The sharpness of the humor left viewers stunned at its audacity to be broadcast for public consumption.

Former NFL player Shawne Merriman watched the event and was happy that Netflix allowed the uncensored content. The eight-year NFL veteran even said the event "broke the mold" on acceptable comedy.

"I put on Twitter that I give nothing but big ups and a tremendous amount of respect to Netflix because in today's society where everything is so censored... what people don't know is when you go sit in those boardrooms when you're coming up with this material, you got to go through so many checks and balances," Merriman said to Fox News. "For them to clear this and let this happen live, I think they broke the mold on censorship."

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"I think they broke the mold on what's OK now. It's OK for comedy. It's OK to crack jokes. I mean, there was everything in there, from race jokes to gender jokes," he continued. "It's like, man, let's get back to that - where comedy is comedy, and it's OK. Nobody was offended, and it was a great time. It was the best roast I think I've ever seen in my life."

After watching the roast multiple times, 11-year Green Bay Packers player and free agent David Bakhtiari had a similar message to Merriman. He took to Twitter to express that the Netflix event contributed to healing the world from politically correct culture.

"Guys, I just rewatched the roast again. I can confidently say Tom Brady has killed PC culture. He is our Jesus Christ. He pretty much socially crucified himself on Netflix live for three hours while the world watched," said Bakhtiari after tweeting that comedy is back. Bakhtiari went on to call Brady a "hero" and claimed: "We are healing."

After the event's success, many people voiced a desire for future roasts featuring other high-profile celebrities online. The combination of comedy, mutual respect among peers, and high-quality production was deemed a perfect fit for celebrities such as LeBron James, Kanye West, and others.