On January 19, several female comedians accused Amy Schumer of stealing jokes. Then, more performers and fans drew connections between other jokes and skits of Schumer’s. And unfortunately, it’s not the first time that questions have been raised about possible joke theft on her part, as similarities between Patrice O’Neal’s bits started back in October. It’s a topic that’s made a lot of celebs upset — no one more than Amy Schumer herself — but it’s not an issue that people can seem to agree on.
Of the three comedians that accused Schumer of stealing — Kathleen Madigan, Wendy Liebman, and Tammy Pescatelli — Pescatelli and Liebman apologized for “taking it too far” and chalked it up to parallel thinking, but it’s still a bit suspicious. Joe Rogen, who roasted comedians like Carlos Mencia in the past for stealing jokes, also took a different look at the scandal, even saying that Schumer might be too big of an empowered female comedian to be brought down for doubts like these.
For a run through of the jokes in question, be sure to watch the video above and decide for yourself. At the very least, it raises some concerns because there are certainly some similarities. So we can all either take Schumer at her word or turn her into the next Mencia, although it seems like the comedy world has gone with the former.
