Joe Rogan has been accused of using stolen jokes in his latest comedy special.
On August 3, the longtime UFC commentator’s latest Netflix offering ‘Burn The Boats’ debuted with mixed reviews, generating a 53% on Rotten Tomatoes—the leading online aggregator of movie and TV show reviews. Critics weren’t nearly as kind, giving it a big fat 0% score, but that’s not where the problems stop for the popular podcaster.
Recently, the YouTube channel The Elephant Grave posted an extensive 36-minute video offering evidence that Rogan had lifted jokes from another comedian and recycled them into his own act. Interestingly, the stand-up comic that Rogan is accused of stealing jokes from is none other than former UFC heavyweight fighter and ‘Joe Rogan Experience’ regular, Brendan Schaub.
YouTuber Elephant Graveyard alleged that Rogan's new standup special both re-used his own old jokes, and stole jokes from others. Which, okay, but you MUST see *who* he was accused of stealing jokes from. Lmfao. pic.twitter.com/q7LEnSQHou
— The Naked Gambler (@NakedGambling) August 12, 2024
Nearly a decade ago, it was Rogan who convinced Schaub to hang up his gloves for good and pursue a career in comedy. Since then, Schaub has found success as a traveling comic and through a variety of podcasts, including The Schaub Show, The Fighter and The Kid, and Food Truck Diaries.
Joe Rogan Has Accused Carlos Mencia and Robin Williams of Stealing Jokes From Other Comics
In an interesting twist, Joe Rogan has a well-known history of calling out comics for stealing material. Nearly a decade ago, Rogan single-handedly destroyed the career of Carlos Mencia after accusing the ‘Mind of Mencia’ host of ripping off jokes. Rogan called out Mencia while the San Pedro Sula native was mid-routine at The Comedy Store in West Hollywood.
“Joe Rogan, by the way, I think single-handedly destroyed [Mencia’s] career,” comedian Aries Spears said in an interview with Vlad TV. “. . . Just because you saw him do it first don’t mean they did it first, right? They just got on television, which is a wider audience. That don’t mean they’re the original author.”
Rogan also accused the late Robin Williams of stealing material to fill gaps in his frenetic style of comedy.
“I think Robin Williams was so… Like, part of that manic sort of style, it’s like this constant need to have a bit about anything that you’re talking about ever,’ Rogan said on his podcast in June. “Killing, I think, was more important—and filling that hole inside of him was more important than anything. So he would just do other people’s stuff if he didn’t have anything to say.”
Asked by JRE guest Harland Williams if anyone had ever confronted Williams over the allegation, Rogan claimed that Sam Kinison, who died in a car crash in 1992, once “got mad at him.”
“He stole from everybody; stole from a lot of people,” Rogan continued. “If you ask any of those comics from back then, there’s always instances of Robin going on a talk show and doing your bit, or going on this and doing your bit, and doing your bit at a club.”
Watch The Elephant Graves’ full video breakdown below:
