The Vigilantes of Comedy: A Guest Post
Late one Saturday night in February 2007, a stand-up comic named Joe Rogan decided to take the law into his own hands.? Rogan, a well-known comedian, was on stage at The Comedy Store in Los Angeles, one of the nation’s most important comedy clubs.? For weeks, Rogan had been furious over reports from fellow comedians that an even more famous stand-up, Carlos Mencia, had stolen a joke from one of Rogan’s friends, a relatively obscure comedian named Ari Schaffer.? Rogan spotted Mencia in the audience, and he blew up.? Slamming Mencia as “Carlos Menstealia,” Rogan accused his rival of joke thievery.? Mencia rushed the stage to defend himself, and there began a long, loud, and profane confrontation.
The Rogan/Mencia blow-up was caught on video, and quickly went viral (caution: extreme language). In the course of a rambling, high-volume duel of insults, Rogan laid out the details of Mencia’s alleged stealing.? Mencia angrily denied stealing, and shot back that Rogan was a “whiny [expletive]” motivated by jealousy. Eventually, Ari Schaffer himself jumped on stage to support Rogan. The audience divided into camps, with most supporting Rogan. The possibility of violence hung in the air.