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Joke Theft on the Rise in America

by Nicholas Katers

I have become a conspiracy theorist about the theft of comedy since YouTube came on the scene. If you asked me five years ago if I cared about some hack comedian’s claims against a more popular comedian, I would have walked away without responding. Thanks, YouTube, for causing me to push aside my work in the search for comedic conspiracies.

There are a number of feuds that are raging within the comedy world through the magic of viral video. Former Newsradio cast member and quasi-comedian Joe Rogan has leveled some heady claims against Carlos Mencia regarding the source of his material. Mencia is accused by Rogan of stealing jokes from Bill Cosby as well as lying about his ethnicity and doing a general disservice to comedy. I dislike Mencia tremendously but I also have a tough time believing Rogan considering his well-established belief that the American moon landing never actually occurred.

A similar issue has arisen between Dane Cook and Louis C.K. over joke theft. Louis C.K. is an unwitting participant in this feud and he handles radio and TV hosts very well when they ask about Cook’s alleged theft. I enjoy some aspects of Dane Cook’s humor but there are certainly aspects of his act that sound lifted from the writer of Pooty Tang.

A comparable accusation was leveled today by Air America host Cenk Uygur against comedian and faux conservative Stephen Colbert. Uygur claims that Colbert stole a joke that compares Republican rhetoric about honor to the fictional Klingons of Star Trek fame. If all of this sounds ridiculous, you are not mistaken. Carlos Mencia is an annoying comedian, Joe Rogan is a wannabe tough guy, Dane Cook is one of the most overexposed comedians in America and Louis C.K. is funny but has an uneven track record. We can now add Uygur, who hosts a show that I have never heard of on a radio network that I have not listened in three years, and Colbert who joins Dane Cook on the overexposed list. I must continue my search for more conspiracies but I am waiting for the day when YouTube crashes completely and I get to return to my normal life.


Posted in Air America Radio, Carlos Mencia, Joe Rogan, Louis C.K., Stephen Colbert, comedy, theft on September 20th, 2007

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