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Inside the Infamous Roast Where Ted Danson Wore Blackface and Shocked the Room

A 30-second audio clip is all that’s known to exist from the 1993 Friars Club roast that made Montel Williams walk out.

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On October 8, 1993, more than 3,000 people packed into the New York Hilton hotel for the Friars Club roast of Whoopi Goldberg. The roastmaster for the event was Cheers star Ted Danson, who was dating Goldberg at the time. To the surprise of many in attendance, Danson took the stage that evening wearing blackface, complete with big white lips painted around his mouth. He also sported a tuxedo and top hat, much like blackface performers were known to do when minstrel shows were still popular.

On top of that, Danson reportedly used the n-word over a dozen times and made vulgar jokes about his sex life with Goldberg. He evidently even bit into a watermelon at one........

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