Carlos Mencia is not the first comedian to be accused of stealing material from other comedians --Denis Leary was accused of stealing from the late Bill Hicks, Dane Cook has been accused of swiping material from Louis C.K.-- but if all allegations are true, Mencia may be the one with the most evidence stacked against him.
I often wonder if "stealing" isn't sometimes confused with comics sharing a similar worldview. I'm not a stand-up comedian, but even I've seen funny ideas that have popped into my head appear on television shows, or in The Onion, or any other number of places. It seems that if you've thought of something, there's a good chance someone else has also thought of it.
I'm not part of the zany world of stand up comedy, but Joe Rogan is, and he's vehemently convinced that the majority of Mencia's material is stolen, and if the video below is any indication, comedians George Lopez and Bobby Lee also agree. Check out the clip to see Rogan and Mencia engage in a battle of words on stage at the Comedy Store. VIDEO CONTAINS FOUL LANGUAGE.
UPDATE: The YouTube video has been removed, so check it out here instead.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-15-2007 @ 2:28PM
McGone said...
Much like I was hoping with the Rosie O'Donnell/Donald Trump, my fingers are crossed that this fight is to the death.
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2-15-2007 @ 2:37PM
Bill said...
Despite being a huge Newsradio fan, I can't say I care much for Joe Rogan. But he does seem to have a point here.
I'm sure every standup has, at one time or another, done some jokes that are pretty similar to others' just coincidentally. I definitely agree with you that that happens. But string enough coincidences together, and you've got a trend. Watch a trend for a bit, and you can start calling the guy a thief. And based on the sheer number of comics who accuse Mencia (Ned? ha!) of stealing their stuff, I pretty much have to assume they're on to something.
Full disclosure: I don't like Mencia's comedy to begin with, so I guess I'm biased.
http://popculturejunk.blogspot.com
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2-15-2007 @ 2:46PM
bd said...
Mencia got pwn3d, and another angel gets their wings.
>Denis Leary was accused of stealing from the late Bill Hicks,
Denis Leary did steal jokes from Bill Hicks.
>Dane Cook has been accused of swiping material from Louis C.K.
Among others.
>I often wonder if "stealing" isn't sometimes confused with comics sharing a similar worldview.
Not when it's the exact same joke that was told somewhere that you know they heard it.
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2-15-2007 @ 3:34PM
Pierre-Luc Allie said...
I that's even worse, here in Quebec with some comedian translating material in french.
I've see a comedian take a Friends storyline (Pheobe signing the truth to kids) and made a full number out of it.
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2-15-2007 @ 4:08PM
Chris said...
Leary stole a lot more from Bill Hicks than a couple jokes.
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2-15-2007 @ 4:10PM
Wild Bill said...
Dane Cook took material from Louis C.K.? I didn't realize that Louis had material that bad.
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2-15-2007 @ 4:10PM
Elliott said...
Speaking of odd coincidences (or plagerism), the picture used for your article is the same one I used for the cover of the Valentine I sent my X yesterday. I think the two bears fighting for dominance really summed up our relationship.
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2-15-2007 @ 4:25PM
Akbar Fazil said...
I love that youtube says "This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by Carlos Mencia"
What a jackass.
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2-15-2007 @ 4:33PM
bgdc said...
Wild Bill - Cook takes some of the material and ruins the delivery. CK is hilarious. His current stuff on HBO is in a different league from the assclown Cook's cheap stand up.
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2-15-2007 @ 4:38PM
Wild Bill said...
I meant no disrespect to Louis C.K., I think he's great. Cook is a dope, the sarcasm didn't carry over well.
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