Nikki Glaser Says Tom Brady Roast 'Changed My Life Forever': 'I Didn't Know It Was Going to Be Such a Big Deal' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Nikki Glaser; Tom Brady.Photo:Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty (2)

Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty (2)

Nikki Glasersays that theTom Bradyroastwas “a night that changed my life forever.”

“I did not know the magnitude of it. I knew that it was going to be a big moment of my career, but I didn’t know that it would be the linchpin that I’ll always reference that point as before and after the roast,” says Glaser, 40.

“In terms of my career, it feels like it’s changed that drastically and I’m glad that I took it as seriously as I did,” she continues. “I didn’t know it was going to be such a big deal, but I knew it’d be a big deal, so I just prepared so hard.”

Tom Brady and Nikki Glaser during the ‘Greatest Roast of All Time: Tom Brady’ event.Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty

Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty

Glaser adds: “I just put everything I had into it so that no matter what happened, I could say, ‘Well, at least I did my best.’ That’s just how I approached it.”

TheF Boy Islandhost also likens her preparation for and performance at the roast to that of an Olympian. “It felt like an Olympic performance. It felt like — I always compare it to an Olympics balance beam routine because it was that high stakes and things could go wrong. I could stumble at any second, and I nailed it,” she tells PEOPLE.

“It felt amazing,” she adds. “And it’s rare that I’ve had those moments, so I’m basking in it.”

Glaser took shots at theseven-time Super Bowl champregardinghis divorce from Gisele Bündchenand hispast relationship with Bridget Moynahan.

Nikki Glaser attends the annual ESPY Awards on July 11, 2024.Amy Sussman/WireImage

Amy Sussman/WireImage

Glaser also tells PEOPLE that she has “nothing to worry about” ahead of the Primetime Emmys ceremony, since shelost in the outstanding variety special (pre-recorded) category to Dick Van Dykewhen the category’s award was handed out on Sept. 7.

“I know that this sounds fake, but I was honestly rooting for him,” she explains of the 98-year-old actor. “I didn’t vote for him. I did vote for myself, but I just was like, ‘We can’t bring Dick Van Dyke to the ceremony and then make him sit for three-and-a-half hours and then not give him an Emmy.’ "

Glaser adds: “So, I have no nervousness anymore.”

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The Primetime Emmys air on Sunday, Sept. 15 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

source: people.com