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An Exhaustive Primer on the Amy Schumer Scandal
An Exhaustive Primer on the Amy Schumer Scandal
(Yes, She's Probably Guilty of Plagiarism)
The Verdict
Before we get too deep into the Amy Schumer plagiarism scandal—and it is a full-fledged scandal at this point, by comedy standards—I want to make my perspective clear. First, I’m an Amy Schumer fan. Second, after considering the evidence outlined below, along with Schumer’s response, I had one immediate reaction and one secondary reaction to the question of whether or not she’s a plagiarist.
The immediate reaction: Absolutely.
The secondary reaction: Probably.
The first reaction is easy to explain, and came about after simply watching the bits she allegedly stole. There’s no escaping the crystal-clear truth here—the original material and Schumer’s copy are almost exactly the same. The only reasonable conclusion is that she’s guilty. Period. Denials and obfuscation are useless against the very plain evidence of outright joke theft, and anyone who disputes it is being intellectually dishonest.
So why did that “absolutely” change to “probably”? Because there’s a concept called subconscious plagiarism that, in Schumer’s case, would entail hearing another comedian’s joke, forgetting it over time, and then writing it later as though she had conceived it on her own. All in all, this version of stealing is more innocent and forgivable than standard plagiarism.
But while a reasonable person might buy that explanation for an isolated incident, or even two, it seems hopelessly far-fetched when we consider Schumer’s pattern of repeat offenses. Nevertheless, it’s impossible to disprove—we can’t be inside her head—and that’s why I’m qualifying the initial absolute judgment.
http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2016/01/an-exhaustive-primer-on-the-amy-schumer-scandal-ye.html
(Yes, She's Probably Guilty of Plagiarism)
The Verdict
Before we get too deep into the Amy Schumer plagiarism scandal—and it is a full-fledged scandal at this point, by comedy standards—I want to make my perspective clear. First, I’m an Amy Schumer fan. Second, after considering the evidence outlined below, along with Schumer’s response, I had one immediate reaction and one secondary reaction to the question of whether or not she’s a plagiarist.
The immediate reaction: Absolutely.
The secondary reaction: Probably.
The first reaction is easy to explain, and came about after simply watching the bits she allegedly stole. There’s no escaping the crystal-clear truth here—the original material and Schumer’s copy are almost exactly the same. The only reasonable conclusion is that she’s guilty. Period. Denials and obfuscation are useless against the very plain evidence of outright joke theft, and anyone who disputes it is being intellectually dishonest.
So why did that “absolutely” change to “probably”? Because there’s a concept called subconscious plagiarism that, in Schumer’s case, would entail hearing another comedian’s joke, forgetting it over time, and then writing it later as though she had conceived it on her own. All in all, this version of stealing is more innocent and forgivable than standard plagiarism.
But while a reasonable person might buy that explanation for an isolated incident, or even two, it seems hopelessly far-fetched when we consider Schumer’s pattern of repeat offenses. Nevertheless, it’s impossible to disprove—we can’t be inside her head—and that’s why I’m qualifying the initial absolute judgment.
http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2016/01/an-exhaustive-primer-on-the-amy-schumer-scandal-ye.html
For those of you who didn't know there was an Amy Schumer scandal -- apparently there's an Amy Schumer scandal.
It's a damned shame if true because comics work very hard in a very tough business and to have someone succeed on your work at your expense is intolerable.
16 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
She may have stolen that political position from someone else.
Back in the 80s Robin Williams was notorious for it at the SF comedy club scene, which was huge at the time. The local comics would change their routines when they saw him watching from the back of the club because their best bits would end up in his stand-up shows.. 
