After the Oscars fiasco that saw Chris Rock getting smacked by Will Smith live on stage, the art of roasting the audience for jokes has become controversial and has raised a few questions. Questions like; should comedians poke fun at their audience? When is a joke at the expense of the audience taken too far? What should be the response of the audience member in a situation like this?

We took a stab at these questions because when it comes to comedy, it’s only fair that it’s done right. We don’t want to think about what our world of entertainment would look like if we didn’t have these comedy sessions that give us reasons to laugh.

Should comedians poke fun at their audiences?

When it comes to stage performances, being able to engage your fans is key. For musicians, it’s getting the audience to sing along, or singing to one special fan to create a memorable experience. For comedians, it’s engaging the audience through jokes – and often joking about one person or group of people in the audience. Poking fun at their audience is part of the art and it shows how versatile they are at being able to make jokes spontaneous. So, is it okay for comedians to make jokes about people in the audience? Sure! The key is to steer clear of offensive content and to know when to stop. This brings us to the next question.

Watch Bash show how to keep it clean

At what point should comedians understand that they are taking their jokes too far?

For comedians, the main objective is to entertain the audience and while doing so, they should be able to read the room and understand non-verbal expressions, especially from fans. Ideally, they should be able to tell when the group or individual they are addressing becomes uncomfortable. At that moment, they need to answer one important question – “do I go on or move on?” Most times, moving on is the best option. Besides, good comedians, always have more material to fill the vacuum or replace an upsetting joke. The last thing any comedian wants is to get interrupted in the middle of their set to be assaulted by a fan. This brings us to the last question.

What should be the response of the audience member when poked by a comedian on stage?

Here’s the thing, we can't tell people how to express their hurt especially when they are the butt of the joke, we can only emphasize the importance of having self-control and channeling your anger through other means. We have had several instances where the audience expressed their displeasure, and it wasn’t through physical assault.

Katt Williams, for instance, has on a few occasions become embroiled in verbal confrontations with audience members over some of his jokes. How did they respond? They simply booed him, and he ended up storming off the stage in annoyance. Dave Chappelle’s recent comedy special had a lot of minorities offended and yes, they did try to cancel him. Even the staff of the streaming service behind his show staged a walkout in protest.

Rick Ross had once been the butt of Chris Rock’s jokes on stage. Like Will Smith, he didn’t take it well, but instead of getting physical, he just took to Twitter and called him “washed up”. So should the response to comedians’ questionable jokes, be violence?

It may seem as if comedy is under immense scrutiny right now, but have no fear. Comedy Nites to the rescue! The fourth season of Comedy Nites hosted by IK Osakioduwa is comedy done just right and it features some of the most versatile comedians on the continent.

Yes, the audience will get roasted, but it will be harmless bants. And we are sure the comedians will keep people’s wives’ names out of it, for obvious reasons.

Watch Comedy Nites every Thursday at 21:30 WAT on AM Showcase. Do make sure you tune in.