Ok, so I was doing a radio interview yesterday and one of the DJ's asked me what I thought about Joe Rogan and Jim Norton's comments that I "co-opted" (DJ's term) material from George Carlin and Jim David (whom I'd never even heard of until that radio interview) on the Opie & Anthony show.

Here's my official response to both of them.

1.  When I was doing Last Comic Standing season 2, Jim norton, in the Paris casino, told me that a hooker had just left his room after taking a dump and a piss in his mouth.  So anyone that is that self-hating has no room to talk about anyone.  I have no beef with Jim, he was nice to me to my face and can talk all the smack he wants behind my back.  Say it to my face if you are going to say it.  From what I hear, he didn't really say I took material.

2.  Joe Rogan: When I was auditioning for LCS1, Joe "thought" (and I use that term VERY loosely) that I had done a bit from a movie he had seen called "Boiler Room."  I told him, on national television that I had been doing stand-up a few years (since 1994)...He said my joke (that I've been telling since 1994) about gay men on an island was in that movie and that I took it.  The movie hit theatres in 2000.  Buddy Hacket came to my defense and said he had never heard it before and called him an "asshole" on television and it aired (albeit bleeped).  Monique came to my defense as well, as did the ENTIRE audience at the laugh factory. Even the producers came to me and said he was doing it to get air time and create controversy as his career was in need of major "re-sesitation."

Now being a typical LEO, right after the show, I rented the movie and I couldn't find the joke he spoke of (and the movie sucked).  If you can, please let me know.  The joke I tell goes like this: "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."

Going even further today, I found a Wiki page of Jim David and there on his page is a joke strikingly similar to my joke above.  His IMDB page infers that he started in this business around 1995.  I've been doing that joke since 1994.  Perhaps David stole it from me? Or perhaps it isn't that original (in which case we both have work to do), or pehaps it's just a strikingly obvious joke?  I've never seen or met the guy so I wouldn't really know.  Although his other material on the page is hysterical.  Coincidentally, this is the VERY joke that Rogan claims I stole from Boiler Room.  Why didn't he also accuse David?

Why is it so hard for Joe to do that kind of research here?  He did with his infantile RANT on Carlos Mencia?  I think Joe's just frustrated that his DVD's don't sell as well as Carlos's or his appearance don't sell out (I've gotten 2fer's for a Rogan show), or that his shows on tv aren't as watched.  I didn't even know Rogan was a stand-up comic until recently when I saw his special (another term I am using loosely). Can you offer up another explanation other than jealousy or envy?  I'm all ears.  BTW, when Joe went on his tirade, here's what happened: 

He was suspended from the Comedy Store.

He was dropped from his agency. Yeah, Carlos has that kind of power at his agency.

Open Mic comics accused Rogan of stealing from them (although I highly doubt at Joe's level he's at open mics).

See, no one is immune from "allegations."  Ask Robin Williams.

Next, I did an extensive search for any jokes that Carlin tells that are remotely similar to mine.  I found zip.  If you can, please send it to me.  As I would expect any other comic to do when two comics tread dangerously close to the same material, I would stop using it.  I have done my act on television enough times, that if George Carlin thinks I took a joke of his, I would have heard it from him by now. I've worked with him before on the Dennis Miller show and never heard a peep.

And when you hear them talk of the purse joke,  I "co-opted", Go here:  An article I wrote in 1998 when ESPN came to me to write about gays in sports.  http://espn.go.com/otl/world/comedian.html where I use those jokes in my article.  Way back then!

Honestly, I think because Joe just can't come right out and call me a FAGGOT, he has found another way to gaybash.  Rogan, I'm on to you.  Now 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." You fill in the rest.  A spade is a spade and I call 'em like I see 'em.

Here's what Dennis Leary had to say when Rogan said he was stealing.(Source: Boston Herald)

"Once it was explained to me that it was a man whose day job is hosting a reality show that's a rip-off of another reality show and whose night job is hosting a talk show that's on the verge of being cancelled, I could understand where his petty jealousy comes from. I'm out in full public view several times this fall so tell that hack if he wants to take a shot at me he can do it man-to-man. Although, I doubt he will."

So I leave it up to you to decide. 

(if you came here from an outside link, check my other blog entries for more on this...myspace.com/comicant)