Plagiarists’ Corner
NOTE. Dec 2021: It is possible to be removed from PLAGIARIST’S CORNER in exchange for money or cash, reflecting the amount you have made by copying me.
For example, a TV reviewer adapting one of my jokes can be removed in exchange for, for example, a Fall 7″, but for Ricky Gervais to compensate for the thefts of my material that have comprised sections of shows for which he has received tens of millions would take a hefty cash payout.
“Mate”. Stewart Lee / Mayor Of London
Lennon & McCartney / Lee & Herring
Digital Ethics / Wanderer Above A Sea Of Fog. Stewart Lee / Oxford Handbook
“Mate”. Stewart Lee / Ribena
Standup In General – Lee / Gervais
"He is the cleverest, funniest, most cliché-free comedian on the circuit. But he likes Jazz." - Ricky Gervais, 2004
Nearly twenty years on and Gervais' act is still made out of bits of my old stuff, either verbatim, or re-jigged and retooled for his own evil alt-right-light purposes.
I didn't realise asking if I could quote his praise of me on a poster seventeen years ago meant I had entered a Faustian pact.
“That was irony. There’s going to be a bit of that throughout the show. That’s when I say something I don’t really mean, for comic effect.”
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Stewart Lee will be thrilled at having been such a source of inspiration for Gervais’s new hour-long standup special.
Or maybe he won’t; in Gervais’s hands, irony often seems the default mode of a man simply wanting to have his cake and eat it – railing against the notion of taboos while relying on them for laughs. Still, he’s undeniably a gifted comic brain, albeit often on autopilot. - Phil Harrison, The Guardian, May 2022.
TV SHIT – Stewart Lee / The Babylon Bee
Lionel Nimrod’s Inexplicable World / Everybody’s Inexplicable World
Armando Iannucci, Stewart Lee, Richard Herring, Rebecca Front
Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, Melania Trump, Donald Trump
Thanks to Ralph for pointing this out.
Unpopular Tories as Japanese Monsters – Stewart Lee / Private Eye
The Art of Repair / The Repair Shop
Stewart Lee / Keir Starmer
A Dog Listening To Classical Music / A Cat Listening To Classical Music
Adoption – Stewart Lee / Dara O’Briain
‘I’m Not A Child’ – Stewart Lee / Tim Heidecker
"You know, those Harry Potter books, you know they’re for children, don’t you? They’re aimed at children. People do that to me, "Have you read the new Harry Potter book, it’s good, have you read it?" No, I haven’t read it, because I’m a forty-year-old man. "You should read it, it’s about a wizard in a school." I’m not reading it! I’m a grown man — I’m an adult! "Have you read Harry Potter and the...and the Tree of Nothing?" No, I haven’t. I haven’t read it, but I have read the complete works of the romantic poet and visionary William Blake. So fuck off."
"I will not be watching a Wonder Woman movie as I am not a child."
Lee & Herring / The Government – Exam Marking System Summer 2020
(sketch starts around 24 minute 30 sec)
Voicing Animals – Stewart Lee / Various
2015. Stew is the voice of a spider at London Zoo.
2020 - Bill Bailey, Catherine Tate, Alan Carr, Tom Allen, Jonathan Ross, Josh Widdicombe, Sean Lock, Jon Richardson, Meera Syal, Dane Baptiste, Kerry Godliman, Alex Brooker, and Shazia Mirza are the voices of animals at London Zoo
‘opinions for money’ – Stewart Lee / Last Week Tonight
‘I’ve got nothing’ – Stewart Lee / Jordan Brookes
Various Routines - 2004 Onwards
Selfie Culture / Wanderer Above A Sea Of Fog. Stewart Lee / Andrew Sullivan
Selfie Culture / Wanderer Above A Sea Of Fog. Stewart Lee / Ryan Gander
Celebrated conceptual artist Ryan Gander reckons that nothing symbolises the times we live in better than the selfie: the icon of a new kind of self-regard that hardly existed just ten years ago. But, as he discovers, its roots go back hundreds of years before smartphones, and this uniquely 21st century phenomenon is just the visible tip of a much much bigger iceberg - a radical reinvention of who we are powered by the very latest digital technology. It has not just changed how much we look at ourselves, but also transformed what we see in the screen when we do. In the age of social media, when we are told to be our best selves and live our best lives, what does that really mean, and what is it doing to our sense of self?
The IRA. Stewart Lee / Ricky Gervais
“There’s a couple of familiar ideas, especially his nostalgic yearning for the more polite terrorists of the IRA with their bomb warnings, but as a whole, this is Gervais setting out his stall as a provocateur and misanthrope.” Chortle
“the idea of the IRA retrospectively seeming like “gentleman” bombers is ancient hat. ” Scotsman
Book. Stewart Lee / Simon Amstell
HOW I ESCAPED MY CERTAIN FATE FABER AND FABER 2010 ANNOTATED STAND-UP SETS BOOK
Voting To Leave the EU – Stewart Lee / Hugo Riffkins
Text and stage variations of the phrase. 2013 onwards
“Voting to leave the EU as a protest vote is a bit like shitting your hotel bed as a protest against bad service, then realising you now have to sleep in a shitted bed.”
"Now is a time to stop complaining that we've shat the bed, and instead all learn to live together, respecting each other, in a shitty bed."
Negative Internet Comments – Stewart Lee / The 1975
UKIP – Stewart Lee / Frankie Boyle
Immigration Routine – Stewart Lee / Al Murray, The Pub Landlord
Immigration Routine – Stewart Lee / Amber Rudd
Evolution – Stewart Lee / The New Yorker
UKIP Routine – Stewart Lee / Nico Semsrott
German comedian Nico Semsrott has been ripping off the ‘Paul Nuttals of the UKIPs’ bit from series 3 of Comedy Vehicle (6min 50 in the video of his set). Challenged on it by a Facebook user, he has provided this explanation…
“Dass das Original des Abschlussteils auf einer Idee von Stewart Lee beruht, hab ich schon im November auf Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nicosemsrott/videos/10153695466017836/ Und auf Youtube auch so angegeben: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mo_kLKOKJHY Steht auch hier: http://www.stern.de/…/nico-semsrott–afd-anhaenger-sind… Dass ich das bei diesem Slam-Auftritt nicht erwähnt habe, ist uncool. Ich war vorher über vier Jahre nicht mehr in einem Wettbewerb aufgetreten, hatte das das ganze Jahr in meinem Solo-Programm drin, ein bisschen was verändert und dann einfach nicht mehr dran gedacht. Das war doof von mir. Tschuldigung. Zerknirscht: Nico (So, das poste ich jetzt auch nochmal unter dem Youtube-Video)”
Google translate renders his explanation as;
“The fact that the original of the final part is based on an idea by Stewart Lee , I’ve been in November on Facebook : [ LINK ] And on Youtube have been defined thus : [ LINK ] Is also here: [ LINK ] That I not in this Slam appearance I mention is uncool . I was not previously in a competition occurred over four years , which had all year in my solo program in there , a little bit changed and then simply not thought about it . That was stupid of me . Sorry. Contrite : Nico ( So that I post now again under the Youtube video )“
Taxi Driver Conversation – Stewart Lee / Michael Deacon (again)
Jungle Canyon Rope Bridges – Stewart Lee / The Onion
Corbyn Article – Stewart Lee / Huffington Post
“Jeremy Corbyn and I are the new Christs” Guardian / Observer Article – 6th September 2015
Filmed Standup – Stewart Lee / Louis CK
Live At The Comedy Store was recorded in a club rather than a theatre to 'give it that live, immediate, intimate feeling', the comic said. Download it here
Stewart Lee / Silent Witness
“It’s Just A Joke” – Stewart Lee / Frankie Boyle
Talking About Comedian’s Income – Stewart Lee / John Robins
John Robins: This Tornado Loves You. Review. WOW-24/7 - August 2014
John Robins: This Tornado Loves You.Review. Festmag - August 2014
John Robins: This Tornado Loves You. Review. Chortle - August 2014
John Robins: This Tornado Loves You.
Review. Broadway Baby - August 2014
John Robins - This Tornado Loves You. Bandcamp..
Endoscopy Routine – Stewart Lee / Ricky Gervais
UKIP / Shitted Bed Routine – Stewart Lee / Stella Creasy
Imaginary Wives – Flight Of The Conchords / Stewart Lee
Advertising – Stewart Lee / Leica Cameras
The Alternative Comedy Experience / Alex Zane’s Funny Rotten Scoundrels
Crisps / Cheese – Stewart Lee / Stewart Lee
Poster Art – Stewart Lee / Jack Whitehall
Behind The Joke / HIEMCF – Stewart Lee / The Guardian
2010 / 2011 Certain Fate / Milder Comedian Books Books by S. Lee in which he crits his own routines.
‘Sneering’ – Stewart Lee / Owen Jones
Live: Aug 2013 – Feb 2014
“I don’t want to look like I’m sneering at the bloke because then there’ll be another on-line click-bait blog on the Daily Telegraph’s website saying I’m a left-wing snob with contempt for ordinary people.“
“Sure, I know how it goes. I’ll slag off Michael McIntyre and before you can say “trollbait”, some in-house contrarian at the Telegraph will have penned a blog calling me a typical leftie snob sneering at the cultural tastes of the masses. But given that he’s just been handed a BBC chat show, all I’ll say is this – he’s not exactly renowned for pushing at the boundaries, is he? No one’s ever labelled him “risqué McIntyre”, or Michael “Oof, anyone got the telephone number for the burns unit?” McIntyre. Just saying.“
Lee v Deacon – 41st Best Standup Rip Off
Del Boy – Stewart Lee / The Daily Mash
By his own admission, the writer of this piece was in the audience for my 2008 show in Stoke on Trent where I performed the original routine, though he says he hated the show so much he never came to see me again.
Internet Abuse – Stewart Lee / Jimmy Kimmel
Reading out internet abuse – 2012 From "Carpet Remnant World" 2011-2012
Reading out internet abuse – 2013 America’s Jimmy Kimmel copies Carpet Remnant World
Various Oranges / Oranjes: 1650 – 2013
Dan Brown – Stewart Lee / Michael Deacon
Parody of Dan Brown in the style of me doing a parody of Dan Brown.
Here’s Michael Deacon in The Telegraph (May 2013) doing a parody of Dan Brown in the style of me doing a parody of Dan Brown.
Here’s me doing a parody of Dan Brown (SLCV Series 1 – BBC2 – 2009).
And here’s Michael Deacon choosing my parody of Dan Brown as one of his TV moments of 2009 in The Telegraph.
Internet Abuse – Richard Dawkins / Stewart Lee
Negative Quotes – Stewart Lee / Jack White / Jarrett Kobek
“A few minutes ago I noticed that I’ve ended up on your plagiarists’ corner. While I’m delighted by the mention, I do resent the implication that promotional use of negative reviews is the only idea I’ve stolen from your body of work.” Jarett Kobek
Farts Are Funny – Stewart Lee / Louis CK
Anti Islamic Standup – Dara O’Briain / Stewart Lee
Bullingdon Club – Stewart Lee & Nick Pynn / Lux Lisbon
Chair – Stewart Lee / Clint Eastwood
Stewart Lee talks to an empty chair in an act developed for his 1985 school comedy review
Comic Bravery – Stewart Lee / Ricky Gervais
21st October 2011 Ricky Gervais’ use of the word ‘mong’. An act of bravery?
13th November 2011 Does comic ‘bravery’ go hand in hand with being offensive and stupid?
Crates – Lee & Herring / Never Mind The Buzzcocks
Lee v Cocker – Book
FABER AND FABER 2010 ANNOTATED STAND-UP SETS BOOK
FABER AND FABER 2011 ANNOTATED LYRICS BOOK
Doing Nothing – Stewart Lee / Dave Chappelle
Onstage, 1989 - Present
Ang Lee – Stewart Lee v Sarah Silverman
Interrupted by a Phone – Tony Allen / Stewart Lee
‘Richard Dawkins’ – Stewart Lee / Russell Brand
Top Gear – Stewart Lee / Steve Coogan
TV Show Ideas – Lee & Herring / The Now Show
Steve Punt, Hugh Dennis & Jon Holmes (with Mitch Benn & Marcus Brigstocke)
