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And he's been in a few movies.
Now I watched that clip, and they accuse of Mencia stealing material from this Jewish comic, name escapes me at the moment, and while the topic is the same, which is a very prominent topic in the news and hard to avoid, it's presented differently. Though I suppose the fact the punchline is the same that it calls for a rip off, right?
That clip didn't convince me of anything. Carlos Mencia has his moments and the one thing that I don't like is the fact that he recycles jokes. His jokes are based on observational racial stereotypes which anyone can and has used. Now if it was a more specific and narrow joke use, then sure they could cry foul. But until they actually have more documented evidence besides the common topical issues that many, many comics go over numerous times, I'm highly skeptical.
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As far as the Ari Shaffir bit goes, a joke based on something in the news, stand-up etiquette goes something like this: a comedian goes on before you and does a bit, and it's a lot like a bit you were going to do. Even if you think your version is better, you drop it.
This is why
every comedian is not accused of stealing jokes, you only hear about three comedians who have done it: Mencia (from several sources, as shown in the video), Dane Cook (who's stolen from Louis CK), and Denis Leary (who ripped off Bill Hicks). Ari opened for Mencia, Cook was attending shows where Louis CK performed in Boston, and Denis Leary was friends with Bill Hicks.
Rogan's stand-up is never gonna set the world on fire, but I think he's done the comedy world a huge service by calling out Mencia. He's the only comic I can think of who could pull it off; he can afford to lose some stand-up work because of the cash he earned on Newsradio, Fear Factor, and the UFC gig; he has credentials from doing years of stand-up; he's successful enough in his own right to not be accused of jealousy. It all just fell into place, and it's about goddamn time.
Jam it back in, in the dark.
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