"Rogan Vs. Ant" sounds like a Japanese monster movie.
In this instance, though, I'm not talking about mutated monsters battling over Tokoyo, I'm talking about comedian Joe Rogan's recent accusation that comedian Ant, the openly gay judge on Last Comic Standing, steals jokes.
If that sounds familiar, it's because Rogan made the same accusations against Carlos Mencia not too long ago (and others have accused Mencia of stealing, as well).
I'm not going to comment on whether Rogan's allegations against either of these men are true, but I will say that no idea exists in a vacuum. If you're a comedian and you've come up with a funny joke or concept, it's likely someone else has thought of it, too. I'm not a comedian, but even I've had funny ideas that I later see pop up on The Onion, or Comedy Central, or any number of places. It's probably a comfortable delusion to think everything your brain concocts was pulled from some realm no one else's mind can touch, but that's just not how it works.
One of the jokes Rogan accused Ant of swiping went like this (from Ant's MySpace):
My brother Frank hates gays. He says, "we should take all you gays and stick you on an island."
I said, "they have, we call it Manhattan."
Rogan claims the same joke was stolen from both comedian Jim David and the movie Boiler Room. Ant says he's been telling the joke longer than that. Ant also accuses Rogan of being homophobic, which is something I won't comment on either until I've invented a machine that can read Joe Rogan's mind.
News of Rogan's Ant rant comes from the forums over at A Special Thing.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-25-2007 @ 4:46PM
Ben said...
I dunno, Joe Rogan is kind of a douche for going after all of his "competition" but Carlos Mencia deserves it. Plus its only like one joke, not like the long thing Mencia stole from Cosby.
Ant is almost as bad because hes just saying Rogan is a homophobe.
Mr. Rogan should stop nit picking other comedians unless its Carlos Mencia.
Ant should give some proof of his innocence instead of calling Rogan a gay hater.
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6-25-2007 @ 5:01PM
automag5 said...
Children these days
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6-25-2007 @ 5:32PM
Brody said...
while both ant and mencia are horrific comics, rogan is like a kid who doesn't like his toys, so he breaks the ones belonging to the kid next door
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6-25-2007 @ 5:15PM
Jim said...
From whom are they stealing material?
Neither one of them is funny.
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6-25-2007 @ 5:34PM
Jaymez said...
What does Ant being gay have to do with anything?
You know, I listen to a LOT of stand up comedy. So much, in fact, I'm often not sure if the joke I'm telling is mine or something I remembered from a comedy act. I don't know how many bits I can quote, nearly word for word, and not know who it should be attributed to. I saw many Ron White bits come to life over the weekend.
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6-25-2007 @ 6:29PM
scriptcomic said...
One thing is for sure... no one in their right mind would steal jokes from Joe Rogan. Stealing or not... not much of the material out there is original. If I hear another set about a comic's dating woes...
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6-25-2007 @ 6:35PM
lucyfan62 said...
Rogen is just looking for something to do since Fear Factor went off the air. You never heard a peep outta him when that was popular. Sounds like he's just looking for some attention by picking fights with other comics.
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6-25-2007 @ 9:03PM
bd said...
1.) Rogan busted Ant for stealing jokes on the first episode of the first season of Last Comic Standing. From the movie Boiler Room as a matter of fact (something about boxing, topless men, belts and purses)
b.) Everything Ant does is just ripping off Mario Cantone wholesale.
III.) I looooove me some Kathleen Madigan
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6-25-2007 @ 9:59PM
Allen said...
stealing jokes isn't cool. It just isn't. There are some stand ups who are bloggers here, ask them. My wife is a stand up and when we listened to some jokes that Dane Cook did against the originals by Bill Cosby and Louis CK we lost a LOT of respect.
You are a comic? You are in the clubs. You hear a lot of jokes. You might THINK you came up with it. Someone points out that your didn't write it? Admit it, apologize and move on .
I applaud Rogan.
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6-26-2007 @ 9:54AM
Gordy said...
You gotta give Rogan credit. He's got the balls to confront them with it. The Mencia bit was hilarious, especially the part when his friend, Bobby Lee, thought he 'borrowed' some of his material too. There were a list of available comics who clearly stated he used their material.
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