Fans of Amy Schumer might be experiencing deja vu now that the comedian is denying accusations that she steals jokes, because she defended herself against similar claims three months ago.
Stand-up comics Wendy Liebman, Kathleen Madigan and Tammy Pescatelli recently took to Twitter to complain that Schumer uses other comedians’ jokes in her own act. Schumer responded that she would take a polygraph test to prove that she would never intentionally steal a joke.
However, in October, a TMZ crew approached Schumer outside an airport and asked about accusations that she lifted material from late comedian Patrice O’Neal. Back then, Schumer insisted, “I would never take anyone’s joke.”
The jokes in question were part of the closing segment of her HBO special “
When asked specifically about the O’Neal comparison, Schumer said, “The thing you’re talking about is — Patrice is my really good friend… I never saw him do those jokes. The thought that I would maybe see those jokes and then go, ‘Ooh, I like those, I’m going to close my HBO special with them’ is crazy.”
Even now, in light of recent accusations, Schumer insists that she would never use someone else’s jokes in her standup shows.
“Both Kathleen and Wendy believe me. They know me, and they don’t believe that I would do that,” Schumer explained during a recent visit to “The Jim Norton Advice Show.” “I think that this is like Tammy trying to get something going, I don’t know.”
Watch a video comparing the O’Neal and Schumer’s bits below.