Did Amy Schumer Get a Pass for Stealing Jokes because She’s a Woman?

McFeely_Smackup · 2016-02-08T18:16:23+00:00

Amy Schumer suffers from the same difficulties that most female comics suffer from. She's trying to be a "funny woman" rather than "funny".

The first two seasons of her TV show were genuinely original and funny, I liked it. Third season came around and it was off...took a few shows to realize what the problem was, and finally got that it suddenly had a "feminist humor" bent to it. Like someone told her "Ok, you're doing great...NOW it's time to do some 'important' jokes". And it just wasn't funny.

The typical female comedian focuses her repertoire around "I'm such a slut" or "I'm such a drunk", and Amy is no exception...90% of her humor falls into that old, tired category. However, she's very good at it. She does a solid job of making it fresh, but she's still following the same old "safe" track as almost every other female comedian.

I don't hold out high expectations for her show though if "feminist" continues to be the baseline for the writing, rather than "funny".

nuesuh · 2016-02-08T20:52:07+00:00

Well... She did rape a man, according to feminist standard.

Remember, if you're massively drunk, you cannot give consent. She fucked a wasted guy, while she was sober. And, Schumer is a feminist.

genghiscoyne · 2016-02-08T16:57:09+00:00

She isn't going to do stand up much longer, theirs going to be too much scrutiny on it. She's either going to be able to transition to shit romcom movie career or fade out. Or she'll be "the funny one" on one of those clones of the view

regis-satanis · 2016-02-08T18:05:41+00:00

What I wonder is for every Lena Dunham or Amy Schumer there are dozens if not hundreds of successful female entertainers who somehow blunder through life without finding themselves in the middle of media shit storms.

If it's all misogyny and jealousy of successful women, why doesn't it happen to all of them, or at least more of them? Instead seemingly the same few over and over?

7hunderpants · 2016-02-08T17:59:40+00:00

Joe rogan gives her a pass. Admitting she is his friend. https://youtu.be/Rk5EiCLQ9Is

Batbuckleyourpants · 2016-02-08T13:40:59+00:00

Who is giving her a pass? as far as i can gather she is loathed.

ThePigmanAgain · 2016-02-08T21:45:22+00:00

She got a pass for raping a dude, so it wouldn't surprise me if she was getting one for stealing jokes.

mstrmatt · 2016-02-08T18:42:44+00:00

As I said when I saw her super bowl ad - this fat rapist is not in the least bit funny or relevant. Let's hope she goes into obscurity soon...

mcfc_fan · 2016-02-08T19:28:05+00:00

I wonder how much of the joke stealing was done by her, and how much of it was done by writers.

MuseofRose · 2016-02-08T23:53:34+00:00

She got off not because she's a woman. She actually did get lightly dragged. She got off industry-wise because she's a current hot commodity in the industry. I mean you can go against here but when youve got that much notoriety you can make a couple of calls to action of other famous friendly industry comedians to back you up and/or even help stiffle someone else's career. The comedy world isnt that big and you gotta play your cards right when your not the hot one. She did at least get dragged for a bit though, so thats cool.

repete66219 · 2016-02-08T16:59:22+00:00

Eh, I don't think so. Denis Leary, Carlos Mencia, Dane Cook, The Fat Jew--joke stealing has been happening since the Pyramids were built. The fact of the matter is that in the Pirate Bay culture we have now, with its Twitter attention span, no one cares about the integrity of the material. They just care about how many "likes" it gets.

The people for whom it does matter, those of us who take standup comedy as an ersatz-philosophy and social barometer, are too few in number to matter. The only opinions Schumer should be concerned with are of those who sit with her at the comedian's table at the Comedy Cellar.

bougabouga · 2016-02-08T16:32:11+00:00

Robin Williams got a pass for stealing jokes.

So I don't think this is a gender issue.

mindless_gibberish · 2016-02-08T19:28:12+00:00

No, and as others have mentioned, this has nothing to do with Men's Rights.

drakecherry · 2016-02-08T20:08:38+00:00

No, everyone knows she's really not that funny(in stand up), but it seems like she's done well in acting.

Freyzi · 2016-02-08T21:34:33+00:00

Did she? As I remember everyone and their grandmother shit on her when it was discovered.

EphemeralChaos · 2016-02-09T03:25:53+00:00

Any indignated oppressed commedians here?.......... no?, okay. (Of all the things you can post.... you guys keep choosing this, please stop, this is starting to look like r/feminism)

wheelsofconfusion666 · 2016-02-08T18:43:42+00:00

I think her real crime was not overseeing the people that write all her jokes for her.

HDRed · 2016-02-08T19:39:25+00:00

She's the white Carlos Mencia.

IreadAlotofArticles · 2016-02-09T00:41:56+00:00

The writers are more responsible for the stolen material than she is imo

TheSandmanECW · 2016-02-09T00:48:07+00:00

She got away with it because almost every major comedian that was supposedly robbed by her came out and defended her. They all said that they appreciate what she does for comics by giving them various jobs in the industry and that most of the jokes she stole could be boiled down to having a similar thought.

rhgla · 2016-02-09T02:11:58+00:00

Yup!

matrix2002 · 2016-02-09T02:46:58+00:00

I think people are giving her a pass because a lot of people like her (not on Reddit, I guess).

And she has maintained good relationships with a lot of comics (minus the ones claiming they ripped her off).

Anyways, people make excuses for people they like, and many people like her.

Not really a pass for being a girl.

stickynoodles · 2016-02-09T12:27:54+00:00

I don't even like her and have never watched anything about her than those joke stealing comparison videos, but every single joke she's accused of stealing is low hanging fruit. I'd be really surprised if she didn't come up with it herself. It doesn't take a particularly funny person to make those observations which she is accused of stealing like women being the ones dressing up their husbands, but it does take a comedian to turn an observation into a funny joke. If two comedians make a joke on the save observation, how can that be stealing?

NewAeon · 2016-02-08T16:08:18+00:00

I don't know if she is funny, not seen her stuff. My experience though says the following things are true:

People are not willing to dislike a performer and move on. They instead find opportunities to preach about how bad that performer is and act shocked at the popularity. Ignoring the fact that different people have different tastes and there are clearly enough people who like the performer to support the career.
Accuse comedians of stealing jokes. From point 1 above, is she just stealing the bad jokes? Also, to some extent humans do tend to share the same experiences, people in a culture will tend to find the same things funny. Four people see something, they laugh, it inspires a joke... who stole from who?
Performers are complete, complex humans. She, just like everyone else on the planet is one too. The spotlight makes the good shine brighter and the shadows darker, at least by contrast. A deplorable trait becomes abhorrent. A good feature is highlighted.
A lot of people try to raise themselves higher by detracting from others. Call someone unfunny hoping that another will think "Wow, I laughed, but this other person is so sophisticated that they found it contemptible. They must be so cool"

So plenty of people find her funny, that means she probably is even if she isn't funny to me. She probably retells jokes she has heard before, because people do that, and she probably comes up with new stuff that others have also thought of. Who cares?

EDIT: words in the wrong places

smartyr228 · 2016-02-08T16:58:02+00:00

Yes she did. They wanted Dane Cook's head on a fucking platter

redwormcharlie · 2016-02-08T19:24:41+00:00

She's also getting a pass for sexually assaulting a man. Ever since hearing that pod cast, I hate this bitch.

skekze · 2016-02-08T20:31:49+00:00

Amy Schumer got a free pass because she's the fat loud ugly girl in high school. She has a LARGE base of supporters to stand on.

im_not_a_gay_fish · 2016-02-08T19:10:41+00:00

No, of course not, and what the fuck does this have to do with Men's Rights? I swear this sub really is becoming what "they" say it was from the beginning - just a place to hate on women...but I digress.

I have been into comedy for a very long time, to the point where for a while I was actually thinking of becoming a stand up comedian when considering career choices. Why am i telling you this? Becuase I have been paying attention to the scene for a long time.

It started back in the late 80's/90's when my parents used to watch "A&E's an Evening at the Improv". My brother and I would watch and repeat and watch and repeat and watch and repeat.

That transitioned into HBO specials and then, Comedy Central. I was quoting Louis CK back in the 90's while I was still a teenager. I was telling people about Bill Burr 20 years ago.

And one thing has always remained the same. People tell similar jokes. Doesn't matter if its a racial joke, a sex joke, a rape joke, a political joke...it has been told before, by several comedians.

And...every once in a while...it happens. Someone would notice and there would be a beef. Someone gets accused of stealing from someone else.

And here's the thing...Nobody cares. Ever.

Don't get me wrong, the comedians care, the people in the industry may talk about it, some hard core fans will take sides, but the general population does not give a shit. Its the same as a director getting blasted for "stealing a shot" or "reusing a theme" from another movie.

Dane Cook is a prime example. I was telling people he sucked back in 99. Why? Because his jokes were the same as other jokes I had heard. He just said them louder. I heard them first when Louis CK did them.

But guess what? Noone cared. In college (01-05), he was the number 1 comedian period. People just told me to shut up when I brought it up that he was jsut saying something funny in a less funny way.

Same with Mencia. I was called racist for that one, but I still maintained that he was simply a re-hasher. Take a popular joke that works, turn it somewhat Mexican, and there you go. Funny for some people, but not for me.

This has happened with many comedians, and I have been there for almost every one.

Amy Schumer is getting no more hate/love than any other comedian accused of joke stealing. Some people take her side and say it doesn't matter as long as its entertaining. Some people decide to hate her and will never watch her again. Some comedians will say let it be it happens all the time, while others are more than happy to crucify her.

The fact is, Amy Schumer fills a Niche. She is young, fairly good looking, and has some funny material. I DO think that her career has outpaced her talent, and I have never really been a fan, but it has nothing to do with her joke stealing or the fact that she is a woman.

But to say she has "gotten a free pass"? Why? Because Joe Rogan didn't blast her like he did Mencia? Rogan fucking hated Mencia, and pounced at the chance to make him eat shit. That shit was damn near personal.

But Amy Schumer is getting plenty of hate for her joke stealing. Just as much as the others (if you pay attention to the right places). If she is talented enough, she will bounce past it. If not, she will fade away. My thoughts is that she will go the Sarah Silverman route. She will write some shows, do a special here and there and mostly just make some money and stay out of the spotlight.

Many comedians do this (male and female). Its the equivalent of writing two novels and becoming an English teacher.

To me, I dont care if she stole the jokes, bought the jokes, or reused them unbeknownst to her...to me, all i care about is fresh material, and if she doesn't have any, I'm gonna move along.

Also, I think its funny that this sub says "Amy Schumer gets a free pass because vagina" while other subs say "Amy Schumer is getting raked through the coals because vagina"

We should rename this sub "full horseshoe".

KaonPlus · 2016-02-08T19:31:16+00:00

Ah yes; manspreading and air-conditioning are first world problems, but joke stealing? NEVER@!@!

brjohns994 · 2016-02-08T22:22:49+00:00

I'll be honest, she didn't steal them. They're just hack jokes.

thehumungus · 2016-02-08T20:47:38+00:00

It's 100% true that a good amount of the vitriol directed at her is because of her identity.

This subreddit hasn't spent nearly as much time hating on Dane Cook or Carlos Mencia for joke stealing. It's also spent more time defending Bill Cosby.

atred · 2016-02-08T18:42:18+00:00

An important men's rights issue here....

funnybillypro · 2016-02-08T19:55:53+00:00

No. She got a pass because she didn't steal the jokes. Let the comedy community police itself!

greatGoD67 · 2016-02-08T16:32:33+00:00

Not really, its more that people who aren't in the industry just don't care enough about stealing jokes to throw a beloved comedian under the bus.

FreemanPontifex · 2016-02-08T18:33:24+00:00

Every standup I've heard talk about it except the few that have accused her are defending her. I'm with them.

omegaphallic · 2016-02-08T18:49:44+00:00

She has a bit on youtube about an internet cable guy where she basically goes insane and it ends with "love" murder suicide, it sounds horrible, but its funny as hell. I do love edgy humour.

secv808 · 2016-02-08T19:01:45+00:00

Nope.

Dazz316 · 2016-02-08T22:12:11+00:00

How many of her fans know she is doing this. Do many that actually know give her a pass?

lazarme · 2016-02-08T17:35:04+00:00

She didn't get a pass because she is a woman, she got a pass because her audience is women. Her audience simply does not care about originality as much as a male audience does. Case in point, the similarity between her specials, the similarity between her movies, the hack nature of her tv show with obvious retread concepts. Her audience does not care about originality and she realizes it. Her audience only cares about volume.

Unenjoyed · 2016-02-08T16:58:31+00:00

This Marc Maron band wagon is rolling on under inflated tires.

Don't participate in his travesties.

darkgatherer · 2016-02-09T00:04:24+00:00

As an MRA and someone who dislikes feminism more than anyone, she didn't steal any jokes.

trudatness · 2016-02-08T17:22:17+00:00

OF COURSE SHE DID

/thread

craschnet · 2016-02-08T17:20:16+00:00

YES!

Title	Did Amy Schumer Get a Pass for Stealing Jokes because She’s a Woman?
Author	eyefish4fun
Upvotes	870
Comments	216
Date	February 8, 2016 1:12 PM UTC (10 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/44qu72/did_amy_schumer_get_a_pass_for_stealing_jokes/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/did-amy-schumer-get-a-pass-for-stealing-jokes.956625 https://theredarchive.com/post/956625

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