Patton Oswalt and Ted Cruz Trade Barbs Over Comedian Canceling Shows

Senator Ted Cruz of Texas found himself on the receiving end of a Twitter comedy roast after he attempted to poke fun at Patton Oswalt's decision to cancel a series of shows.

The comedian opted to cancel gigs in Florida and Salt Lake City, Utah, after the venues refused to make it a requirement that audience members be vaccinated or provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test.

Cruz shared a tweet reporting Oswalt's decision, adding the comment: "Both of his fans were disappointed."

The Republican's jibe did not go unnoticed by the comedian, who used it as a jumping-off point for a tweet-based roast about the senator's various blunders.

"Okay Ted, here we go," Oswalt wrote, adding that his fans were "Not as disappointed as Texas was when you cut your Cancun vacation short and came home."

The senator drew widespread criticism in February after he took a family trip to Mexico while Texas was in the grip of a deadly winter storm.

Oswalt also brought up Cruz's alleged role in the events leading up to the Capitol riots.

"Ted, my fans are all at home, waiting to see you at the January 6th hearings."

Oswalt finished by bringing up the 2017 incident in which Cruz's Twitter account liked a pornographic tweet.

At the time, the senator attempted to explain the blunder by saying: "There are a number of people on the team that have access to the account and it appears that someone inadvertently hit the like button."

That explanation evidently didn't wash with Oswalt, who thanked Cruz for his tweet, writing: "I'm so flattered you took time from your porn scrolling for this, Ted."

Oswalt signed off with a brutal broadside, branding Cruz a "friendless, cowardly embarrassment" and adding that his "beard looks stupid."

The savage takedown has gone down well with fans on Twitter, where the first tweet in Oswalt's roast has racked up more than 5,000 retweets and 62,000 likes.

Fellow comedian Alise Morales tweeted: "Ted Cruz is so desperate to be a comedian but the closest he can get is being dunked on by them."

Actress Merrin Dungey said it was "like shooting fish in a barrel" for Oswalt. Comedian Emily Brandwin joked: "I counted all of Ted's fans on my finger."

Cruz has yet to respond to Oswalt, but it is not the first time the lawmaker has traded barbs with a comedian.

In April, he became embroiled in a spat with Trevor Noah after tweeting: "I remember when the Daily Show was funny."

Noah fired back in kind, but the Republican told fans that he wears the comedian's scorn "with pride."

Cruz is no stranger to mockery online. In the past he's been ridiculed for filming himself reciting the Pledge of Allegiance on Flag Day to falling asleep during a speech by President Joe Biden.

Newsweek has reached out to Cruz and Oswalt for comment.