"The Aristocrats" is a taboo-defying off-color joke that has been told by numerous stand-up comedians and dates back to the vaudeville era. It relates the story of a family trying to get an agent to book their stage act, which is revealed to be remarkably vulgar and offensive in nature, with the punch line revealing that they incongruously bill themselves as "The Aristocrats". When told to audiences who know the punch line, the joke's humor depends on the described outrageousness of the family act.

Because the objective of the joke is its transgressive content, it is most often told privately, such as by comedians to other comedians. It came to wider public attention when it was told by Gilbert Gottfried during the Friars' Club roast of Hugh Hefner. Gottfried told the joke to recover after losing the crowd and eliciting "booing and hissing" with a joke about the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which had occurred just 18 days prior. It was the subject of a 2005 documentary film of the same name by Paul Provenza and Penn Jillette.