Comedian Patrice O'Neal, who was the target of savage health-related insult comedy at last month's Comedy Central Roast for Charlie Sheen, has apparently suffered a serious stroke.
Fellow comic Jim Norton said on radio show "Opie and Anthony" Wednesday that his 41-year-old friend had suffered a serious stroke last week.
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"We don't know how he is," Norton said. "We don't know how he's going to be. I didn't want to (reveal) this myself. I wish we had more news for you."
The New York-based O'Neal appeared on last month's highly-rated Comedy Central broadcast event alongside such fellow comedians as Amy Schumer (scene here with O'Neal and comedian Jon Lovitz, and came out the worse for it.
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Moving off fellow roaster Mike Tyson to take aim at O'Neal, Schumer remarked, "Patrice has always been destined for stardom, and diabetes. So tonight is not just the roast of Charlie Sheen, its' also a farewell party for Patrice's foot."
For Comedy Central, which had planned to repeat the roast event on numorous more future occassions, jokes like that fall into the category of "way too soon."
For its part, "Opie and Anthony" released a statement on the show's Facebook page: "Our close friend Patrice O'Neal suffered a stroke last week," it reads. "Please respect his family and their request for privacy. An email has been set up for fans to send him well wishes and his family will make sure he gets them. You can write to LoveForPatrice@gmail.com. When we have an update on his condition, we will let you all know."