‘Plagiarism’ claims levelled at Australia’s Got Talent contestant
Did a comedian who has qualified for the Australia's Got Talent semi-finals lift gags from other performers?
- Published by David Knox
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Australia’s Got Talent now has its first controversy for the year after suggestions that a comedian who has qualified for the semi-final lifted jokes from other performers.
On Tuesday night 22 year old Jordan Paris from the Gold Coast qualified for the next round after his gags about dating women and singer Robbie Williams:
Jordan Paris, Australia’s Got Talent, May 2011
”A few years ago I went and saw Robbie Williams … what I noticed is, Robbie only sings like half a song. (Sings) ‘Come on Australia you know this one,’ (points microphone to audience). I was like ‘Yeah we do Robbie, it was 150 bucks to get in mate, any chance you could sing it for us?’ That’s like me getting up here going ‘Oh gee, a funny thing happened to me on the way here tonight guys. Come on I think you know this one…’ (points microphone to audience).”
Jordan Paris, Australia’s Got Talent, May 2011
‘‘I’ve only got three requirements when it comes to girls. Number one, are you a girl? Number two, have you always been a girl? And number three, if not, can you keep a secret?”
With additional singing, Paris impressed the judges enough to proceed to the next stage of the competition.
But the Gold Coast Bulletin today said, “The only problem was, it has all been done before.”
It claimed Lee Mack made a similar gag in the UK in 2007.
Lee Mack, Live at the Apollo, December 2007
”Can someone tell Robbie Williams that this doesn’t constitute entertainment: ‘Come on Glastonbury you know this one,’ (points microphone to audience). ‘Yeah we know it Robbie, it was 150 quid to get in, any chance you could sing it for us?’ I couldn’t get away with that could I, I couldn’t come on here and go ‘Hey, a funny thing happened to me on the way here tonight, come on you know this one…’ (points microphone at audience).
Geoff Keith, posted on Comedy Central in 2007
”I only have three requirements when it comes to girls, ready: One, are you a girl? Have you always been a girl? And if not can you keep a secret?”
”Comedy’s a funny thing,” Paris told the newspaper. ”Obviously there are a lot of people doing a lot of things, but a joke’s a joke. If it’s making people laugh then I’m happy.”
Seven reportedly became aware of the issue yesterday afternoon, just hours before a pre-recorded episode aired showing Paris getting through to the semi-finals.
After viewing a You Tube clip of Lee Mack a Seven spokeswoman said Paris had ‘definitely been inspired by him’.
Channel Seven this morning would not comment on whether he would now be disqualified from the show.
Source: Brisbane Times
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38 Responses
Stealing jokes is taken very very seriously in the stand up community. it is not a tolerated thing at all. People saying it’s no big deal are dead wrong. Comparing it to singing someone else’s song is laughable.
As a former comedian, I know how long it takes to write and hone your own material into a working routine. Other real comedians respect the process and would never steal another comic’s work.
Can’t agree with anyone else here. Covering other songs is different than stealing comedy routines. Not to mention the fact that he’s not even in the same stratosphere as Lee Mack when it comes to delivery.
They should axe him, and rightly so.
To all the people who claim comedians steal each other’s jokes all the time. No they don’t, at least not good ones. It can end your career if you’re busted doing someone else’s material.
So now next, we’ll start hammering magicians.
If a comedian is hanged for reusing an obscure joke (which gets laughs and does the job) then magicians should be hanged for using the same tricks (which everyone knows from 10 years ago).
Got it.
Leave him alone, if it makes you laugh who cares if some stick in the mud can find it on the internet and hang someone for it… bah!
Nah – it’s trading other’s hard work as your own. David Knox fully has the right to be annoyed if another website copy/pastes his own words without a credit. It’s not cricket. And Paris is not talented enough to come up with enough of his own material to be on a talent(less) show.
i Don’t get it- is he being judged on a joke or his abaility to tell a joke? Don’t all comedians steal each others material? I don’t really want to defend him though , his mouth made me sick to look at….
Plagiarism is where you use someone else’s materials, either verbatim or very close to, without attributing. It’s not so much theft of the idea. You cannot copyright an idea, so you also can’t ‘steal’ an idea. However, you can plagiarise the execution.
The idea here is to make fun of Robbie Williams (not a new idea) but the execution is to compare Robbie making the audience do the singing, to a standup making the audience tell the joke – and the extra sting about paying $150 a ticket.
(I love the irony that he’s used someone else’s joke about a comedian not telling jokes!)
If Jordan Paris had come on and said he was a Lee Mack impersonator, that’s equivalent to attribution and it would have been fine. The same way singers performing a Beyonce or Brittney hit don’t pretend to have written it themselves. With music, everyone assumes you’re doing a cover version. Most of the songs are far too well known already for people to pretend they wrote it.
A lot of acts contain material which is heavily influenced, or inspired by others. Even if he shouldn’t be disqualified, the judges should take into consideration the over-reliance on other work performed by other people, when deciding his fate. There’s a difference between being influenced by someone and outright copying them. Whilst the audience expects to be entertained, there’s also an expectation from the audience for some originality or personal touch.
@steve: well at least we all can now know that you aren’t at all representative of Australian viewing habits
I thought both of them were lame. Sorry but i didn’t see the comedy in these 2. I say boot them. There is a difference between having your own comedic act and stealing from someone else and not acknowledging them. Get rid of them Now!
I think its stupid that its been made into a deal. Im sure many others had the joke before it was aired in 2007. Should singers on Australian Idol make up their own songs? why is it ok for dancers to get inspiration from others and use it in their own work ie Dancing with the stars contestants? 7News and 9News have a similar promo atm, is that plagiarism?
Dude was on Australian Idol a few years back.
He was annoying and unoriginal then and looks like not much has changed.
There’s only so many jokes in the world.
Regardless of how he does he will struggle outside of the competition once he’s been labelled a gag thief. Other comedians wont be seen anywhere near him. You can tell it’s lifted because he didn’t bother changing the Artist or the amount of money. He would have had a lot easier time claiming a coincidence if he’d bothered to change the material even a little.
who cares? – it’s all in the delivery, heaps of comedians tell the same jokes – he presented them really well and was very funny, at least worthy of getting into the semi finals – really isn’t it the same as singers doing covers?
And let this be a lesson to Akmal.
How much of the rest of his act was pinched?
And was it funny?
Hmm actually watching this the other night I thought he got those gags from other performers, don’t know why but I just had an inkling.
From the examples cited; yep plagiarism.
Comedians can have the same though, they can have similar punchlines “.. can [subject] keep a secret?”. The act in this case is identical.
But honestly, it an amateur talent show. Do we expect original material?
Comics steal each others material all the time, they are just rarely been this blatant, that’s all. It’s a bad look, though, to be caught red-handed and if I were the producers, I’d probably disqualify him.
The difference is when someone sings another performers song, its either well known or is preceeded with “Here’s X singing a Y song”. This bloke has simply stolen two bits of other peoples material. If he’d stated who the original comedians were then that would be different.
Most comedian steal from one another, you just have to clever enough to say it in a different way.
What’s the diff between someone who sings someone elses song (ala that Bieber wannabe who sang Whitney) and someone who tells someone elses joke??…
From the photo, he looks hot, so I think that’s reason enough to put him through to the ‘semi finals’.
I guess it’s just more publicity for this god awful show which Seven probably generated themselves and then responded to publicly. I don’t think the Journalistic genius’ at the Gold Coast Bulletin uncovered this one all on their lonesome…. ACA will fall for the trick and there’ll be a story on it tonight prob lol
I think I’m rambling…. cue the stone throwers
I’ve never watched AGT although for the last 2 weeks with ratings as high as they are i thought i probably should give the show a go.
Now to learn that comedians are making it through the auditions? On top of that, the jokes aren’t original? Thanks but no thanks!