Gag theft row escalates

Rogan’s recently targetted a comic called Ant as part of his ongoing campaign of exposing acts he believes committed the cardinal sin of modern stand-up.

He accused Ant, who hosts the US version of Celebrity Fit Club and is one of the talent scouts in Last Comic Standing, of taking material from George Carlin and others.

On a long, seething diatribe on his MySpace page, Ant hit back: ‘I think because Joe just can't come right out and call me a FAGGOT, he has found another way to gaybash.’

And he said he's ready for Rogan's retaliation, saying ‘I can't wait to hear him proclaim, “Ant's using the homophobic card? How come a straight guy can't talk about a gay guy and blah blah blah.” A spade is a spade and I call 'em like I see 'em.’

When Ant appeared as a contestant on an earlier series of Last Comic Standing, Rogan accused him of taking a joke from a movie called Boiler Room.

The gag in question is: ‘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.”’

A comic called Jim David also has a similar line. But Ant says he was doing the joke since 1994, long before the movie came out in 2000 and a year before David started comedy.

‘Perhaps David stole it from me?’ Ant wrote. ‘Or perhaps it isn't that original - in which case we both have work to do - or perhaps it's just a strikingly obvious joke?’

Rogan, who hosts the reality show Fear Factor, has been vocal in exposing those comics he believes have stolen material. He confronted Carlos Mencia on stage at the Los Angeles Comedy Store, and was subsequently banned from the venue. He later edited together the following video showing similarities between Mencia’s routine and other acts.

Published: 15 Jun 2007