which are remarkably similar to jokes on Louis C.K.’s 2001 album
Live in Houston.
*
Louis C.K. has never said anything publicly about the allegations against Cook. But other comedians and comedy fans certainly have. For the last six years or so, Cook’s penchant for copying, and the specific allegations regarding Louis C.K., were detailed on comedy blogs and in a 2007 article in
Radar
magazine. And then there are the videos on YouTube, posted mostly anonymously, accusing Cook of imitating the routines of a number of other comedians. The allegations clearly have upset Cook. In a 2010 interview with comedian Marc Maron, an agonized Cook insisted that he “didn’t steal anything from Louis C.K.” “How can I really convey to people so that they understand?” Cook added. “I’ve never stolen anything in my life…. I’m not a thief.”
And then, a couple of months after the Marc Maron interview, the Louis C.K./Dane Cook dispute took a fascinating turn: Cook appeared as himself in an episode of
Louie.
In the show, Louie wants to take his daughter to a Lady Gaga concert for her birthday. He approaches Cook, who shares a promoter with Gaga, for help in scoring tickets. The comedians meet in Cook’s dressing room for a face-to-face discussion.
At first Cook is surprised and offended that Louie would ask him for a favor. But Cook agrees to get the tickets for Louie—on one condition: “All you have to do,” Cook says, “is go on YouTube, and tell everybody that I did not steal your material.”
Louie does not respond directly; instead, he denies ever accusing Cook of theft. Cook shoots back that what Louie has done is just as bad: he’s allowed other people to make the accusations, without stepping in to deny them. And then Cook lays out how badly he’s been hurt:
You know what?—I’m excited that you’re in this room right now, because I’ve waited four years to tell you this….
The year 2006 was the greatest year in my entire life. I had a double-platinum comedy album—first one ever to exist. I had a massive HBO special…. 2006—that should have been like my triumph. And I enjoyed it, Louie, for maybe two months. Two months before it started to
suck.
Because everything I started to read about me was about how I stole jokes from you. Which I didn’t.
“I kind of think you did,” Louie shoots back. And then he tells what he thinks happened:
I don’t think that you saw me do those jokes and said “I’m going to tell those jokes too.” I don’t think there’s a world where you’re that stupid, or that bad a guy…. I think you saw me do them—I know you saw me do them—and I think they just went in your brain; I don’t think you meant to do it, but I don’t think you stopped yourself either. And that’s why I never felt the need to help you not be hated by a lot of people.
An exasperated Cook asks Louie again for a public statement of absolution. Louie responds by asking whether Cook would be willing to admit that he did appropriate the jokes, even if inadvertently. Finally, Cook breaks down and says he’ll get Louie the tickets. Nothing has really been settled, but each comic has had the chance to say his piece.
On one level, Louis C.K. and Dane Cook are simply actors playing parts in a TV show. But the dispute they’re spatting over is real, and the on-screen confrontation also says something important about how comics behave out in the real world. When a comedian believes that a rival has used one of his jokes, he doesn’t file a copyright lawsuit. Copyright law technically covers jokes. But because copyright protects the specific expression of a joke, rather than the underlying funny idea, it is very easy to sidestep the legal rule and simply tell the joke in a slightly different way. In practice, this means copyright just does not protect the work of comedians.
But that does not mean comedians stop creating new jokes: in fact, a big part of being a successful stand-up comic is
Live in Houston.
*
Louis C.K. has never said anything publicly about the allegations against Cook. But other comedians and comedy fans certainly have. For the last six years or so, Cook’s penchant for copying, and the specific allegations regarding Louis C.K., were detailed on comedy blogs and in a 2007 article in
Radar
magazine. And then there are the videos on YouTube, posted mostly anonymously, accusing Cook of imitating the routines of a number of other comedians. The allegations clearly have upset Cook. In a 2010 interview with comedian Marc Maron, an agonized Cook insisted that he “didn’t steal anything from Louis C.K.” “How can I really convey to people so that they understand?” Cook added. “I’ve never stolen anything in my life…. I’m not a thief.”
And then, a couple of months after the Marc Maron interview, the Louis C.K./Dane Cook dispute took a fascinating turn: Cook appeared as himself in an episode of
Louie.
In the show, Louie wants to take his daughter to a Lady Gaga concert for her birthday. He approaches Cook, who shares a promoter with Gaga, for help in scoring tickets. The comedians meet in Cook’s dressing room for a face-to-face discussion.
At first Cook is surprised and offended that Louie would ask him for a favor. But Cook agrees to get the tickets for Louie—on one condition: “All you have to do,” Cook says, “is go on YouTube, and tell everybody that I did not steal your material.”
Louie does not respond directly; instead, he denies ever accusing Cook of theft. Cook shoots back that what Louie has done is just as bad: he’s allowed other people to make the accusations, without stepping in to deny them. And then Cook lays out how badly he’s been hurt:
You know what?—I’m excited that you’re in this room right now, because I’ve waited four years to tell you this….
The year 2006 was the greatest year in my entire life. I had a double-platinum comedy album—first one ever to exist. I had a massive HBO special…. 2006—that should have been like my triumph. And I enjoyed it, Louie, for maybe two months. Two months before it started to
suck.
Because everything I started to read about me was about how I stole jokes from you. Which I didn’t.
“I kind of think you did,” Louie shoots back. And then he tells what he thinks happened:
I don’t think that you saw me do those jokes and said “I’m going to tell those jokes too.” I don’t think there’s a world where you’re that stupid, or that bad a guy…. I think you saw me do them—I know you saw me do them—and I think they just went in your brain; I don’t think you meant to do it, but I don’t think you stopped yourself either. And that’s why I never felt the need to help you not be hated by a lot of people.
An exasperated Cook asks Louie again for a public statement of absolution. Louie responds by asking whether Cook would be willing to admit that he did appropriate the jokes, even if inadvertently. Finally, Cook breaks down and says he’ll get Louie the tickets. Nothing has really been settled, but each comic has had the chance to say his piece.
On one level, Louis C.K. and Dane Cook are simply actors playing parts in a TV show. But the dispute they’re spatting over is real, and the on-screen confrontation also says something important about how comics behave out in the real world. When a comedian believes that a rival has used one of his jokes, he doesn’t file a copyright lawsuit. Copyright law technically covers jokes. But because copyright protects the specific expression of a joke, rather than the underlying funny idea, it is very easy to sidestep the legal rule and simply tell the joke in a slightly different way. In practice, this means copyright just does not protect the work of comedians.
But that does not mean comedians stop creating new jokes: in fact, a big part of being a successful stand-up comic is
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