comedy industry
New trouble for James Corden: He copied a gag from competitor Ricky Gervais
Presenter and comedian James Corden
© Sipa Press / Action Press
In his “Late Show” moderator James Corden joked on Twitter – and almost word for word used a gag that comedian Ricky Gervais had previously done. Coincidence? Rather not.
They are both British: James Corden, 44, and Ricky Gervais, 61. Both are considered to be as successful as they are difficult. While the sharp-tongued Ricky Gervais, who in addition to his stand-up shows became known with “The Office” (the template for the German “Stromberg”), among other things, showed his more human side with his surprisingly warm-hearted series “After Life”. . Meanwhile, Corden made more negative headlines. The late show presenter, who now lives in the United States, is said to have repeatedly caused displeasure through aggressive, arrogant behavior, especially when visiting restaurants.
And now there’s more trouble. Because Corden seems – consciously or unconsciously – to have broken the code of honor of the comedy industry: In his TV show he made fun of the short message service Twitter, which is known to have just been bought by tech billionaire Elon Musk. He addresses a stereotype that says even the most benign news has commentators on Twitter who don’t agree. Corden likens it to someone posting a notice in a town offering guitar lessons — prompting people to gather in front of it and yell that they don’t care.
James Corden stole joke from Ricky Gervais
A charming and funny comparison. However, one that Ricky Gervais has previously pulled as part of a very successful and correspondingly well-known stand-up program.
Especially in Great Britain, the stolen gag was immediately noticed by many people, who then (of all places) vented their outrage on Twitter. Corden not only used the same metaphor as Gervais, which could have been a coincidence – he also took the passage literally and underlined it with the same hand gestures.
Ricky Gervais took the joke theft with biting humor. “The marketplace part and the guitar lesson poster part was great,” he cynically tweeted at James Corden. When a user asked him if Corden asked for permission to use the gag, he said no: “No. I’m guessing one of his writers ‘made it up’ for him because I can’t imagine he knowingly would copy something from such a well-known stand-up act.” Does he really can’t imagine or whether this is irony remains to be seen – the two comedians shouldn’t have the best relationship with each other anyway.
Both comedians don’t like each other very much
It is unclear whether James Corden really only recited what his writing team wrote down for him. Of course it’s possible, but as a native Brit he never saw his competitor’s successful stand-up program sounds unlikely. And the copied hand gestures raise more question marks. On (of course) Twitter, however, some users came up with the theory that it could be a deliberate act of revenge by an author who may have been roughly treated by Corden in the same way as several gastro employees who had recently spoken out.
The writer would have known that these lines would sound familiar to many people and cause trouble for James Corden. However, it is just a theory. We don’t know exactly what went on behind the scenes on Corden’s late show. Also because Corden has not yet commented on it. In any case, the incident should not do his image any good.
Sources: Twitter, “Rolling Stone”