Recently, a number of comedians have been hit with public backlash because of jokes that supposedly “went too far.” The best example, of course, is Daniel Tosh, who made an ill-advised joke about rape (haha?) and got torn to shreds on Twitter.

Interestingly, this kind of backlash has made a number of other comedians stand up for their colleagues’ politically incorrect blunders. They say that while, yes, sometimes jokes do go too far, the whole point of comedy is to push the boundaries, and if you’re afraid to do that, chances are you’ll stop being funny (a lot like Jay Leno).

So why do we bring all of this up?

Because last week, at Comedy Central’s roast of Roseanne Barr, comedian Jeffrey Ross showed up dressed as the late Joe Paterno…and he was accompanied by two “boys” wearing nothing but towels—an allusion to the perverted sexual abuse of of children by Jerry Sandusky in the Penn State locker room.

Have a look:

Ross knew full well that some people wouldn’t like the fact that he was “making light” of such a tragic situation. But of course, that’s why he did it.

He explained to reporters on the red carpet that the “P” on his jacket is for “People who can take a joke.” Then he added, “If they’re offended by what they see, they can do what Joe Paterno did – look the other way.”

And during the actual roast, he was even more clear about the point he was trying to make:

“Roseanne, I’ll always love you for saying whatever you want, for never holding back. And in these alarming times when comedians are second-guessing their imaginations and sometimes even apologizing for jokes, I consider you a hero and a martyr and a friend … Now I’m gonna take Seth Green and hit the showers!”

So what do you think?

Is this a legitimate attempt to make a statement about humor, creativity, and expression…or does Ross go “too far”?

Hat Tip – [Huffington Post]