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Russell Peters says incoming Daily Show host Trevor Noah stole his jokes

Russell Peters says incoming Daily Show host Trevor Noah stole his jokes

In comedy, lifting material from another comedian is no joke.

But Canadian comedian Russell Peters says that’s just what the new host of the Daily Show has done, to him and another comic.

In a weekend interview ahead of his Thursday show in Singapore, Peters says Trevor Noah has copied his jokes.

“He’s stolen material from David Kau, he’s stolen material from myself but whatever. That’s his gig now and congratulations. That’s all I can say,” Peters, the Ontario comic, tells Lin Xueling of Channel NewsAsia’s “Conservation With” after she prods him about whether he wanted the high-profile job.

Asked by the host if Noah has simply “borrowed” the material, Peters was emphatic.

“You don’t borrow in this business. If you’re a comedian, that’s like stealing somebody’s underwear and putting them on,” he says.

“That doesn’t make any sense. Why would you do that?”

Xueling continues to ask Peters about the coveted Daily Show gig.

“That’s a political show and I’m not a political-minded guy. I would be the wrong guy for that show, 100 per cent,” he says.

Peters, who grew up in Brampton, Ont., and now lives in Los Angeles, is currently on an international tour.

An email to his agent requesting an interview was not immediately returned. Nor did Noah’s agent respond to a request for comment.

Noah no stranger to controversy

Noah came under fire almost immediately after Comedy Central announced last month that he would take over as host of the popular Daily Show from outgoing host John Stewart.

The South African-born comic was lambasted for jokes posted on Twitter that detractors felt were sexist and anti-Semitic.

Among the comedian’s nearly 9,000 tweets are these gems:

“Behind every successful Rap Billionaire is a double as rich Jewish man.”

“Messi gets the ball and the real players try foul him, but Messi doesn’t go down easy, just like jewish chicks.”

The network issued a statement saying that judging Noah by a handful of jokes was unfair, and Stewart came to his defence on the Daily Show.

“Trevor Noah will earn your trust and respect — or not — just as I earned your trust and respect — or did not; or sometimes earned it and then lost it; and then kind of got it back,” Stewart said.

He asked his substantial audience to give the 31-year-old comic a chance.

“My experience with him is that he is an incredibly thoughtful and considerate and funny and smart individual,” he said.

Peters is not the first comedian to level the plagiarism accusation at Noah.

In a 2013 interview for Mahala, a South African arts and culture magazine, Noah was asked about a similar allegation from Kau.

“Nobody owns comedy, nobody owns a premise, nobody owns an idea. Comedy is your personal take on a thing,” he says.

“Do you get what I’m saying? Like half the jokes young black comedians are doing in America right now, Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy were doing 20 years ago. Chris Rock says it himself; he says: ‘When I started comedy I was basically a fake Eddie Murphy/Richard Pryor.’ Everything has been done before, there’s nothing new under the sun.”