Ricky Gervais calls out James Corden over apparent joke theft

Talk show host James Corden has been busted apparently lifting a joke almost word-for-word from comedy rival Ricky Gervais’ 2018 stand-up special.

Talk show host James Corden has been busted apparently lifting a joke almost word-for-word from comedy rival Ricky Gervais’ 2018 stand-up special.

And Gervais, who has a long-running public feud with Corden, even called him out publicly for lifting the joke – before later deleting the tweet because he “felt sorry for Corden”.

Corden’s joke, made during a recent episode of his talk show The Late Late Show, uses an metaphor about guitar lessons to poke fun at the negative reactions people can encounter from strangers on social media.

Stream more entertainment news live & on demand with Flash. 25+ news channels in 1 place. New to Flash? Try 1 month free. Offer available for a limited time only >

James Corden’s joke sounded mighty familiar.

Ricky Gervais said it in 2018.

Here’s what Corden said:

“If someone puts up a poster in a town square that says ‘guitar lessons available’, like you don’t get people in the town going: ‘I don’t want to play guitar! I want to play the piano you piece of s**t’!’ Well that sign wasn’t for you. It was for somebody else! You don’t have to get mad about all of it.”

And here’s what Gervais said, in his 2018 Netflix special Humanity:

“They choose to read my tweet, and then take that personally. That’s like going into a town square, seeing a big notice board and there’s a notice – guitar lessons – and you go, ‘But I don’t want f***ing guitar lessons’. Fine, it’s not for you then, just walk away. Don’t worry about it!”

As those on social media noticed the marked similarities between the two clips, Gervais momentarily joined the pile-on, retweeting a clip of Corden’s joke and adding “The bit about the town square advert for guitar lessons is brilliant”.

When a fan asked if Corden had “asked to use that joke,” Gervais confirmed that he hadn’t – but that he thought one of the show’s writers had “come up with it” for him.

And Corden has now publicly responded to the controversy, acknowledging that the joke was Gervais’ and saying that he “inadvertently” told it:

Inadvertently told a brilliant Ricky Gervais joke on the show last night, obviously not knowing it came from him. It’s brilliant, because it’s a Ricky Gervais joke. You can watch all Ricky’s excellent specials on Netflix. J x

— The Late Late Show with James Corden (@latelateshow) November 1, 2022

Gervais and Corden’s long-simmering feud reignited last month, when Corden was in the news for his alleged bad behaviour in a New York restaurant.

Gervais couldn’t resist the opportunity to have a dig, sharing a clip from his Netflix series Afterlife in which his character acts with disgust at the idea of Corden being a dream dinner party guest.

Corden’s been having a bad PR month after some alleged rude behaviour in a New York restaurant. Picture: Jeff Spicer/Getty

He also re-shared one of the most vicious digs from his Oscars 2020 opening monologue, where he elicited shocked laughter when he told the audience: “The world got to see James Corden as a fat p**sy. He was also in the movie Cats, but no one saw that.”

In 2020, an industry source told The Sun that the pair’s feud had started off as “harmless banter” years ago – before developing into something more serious.

“They were often pitted against each other, two up-and-coming British stars who were trying to make it in America,” the insider said.

“James started out mocking Ricky, his character David Brent and his movie career in sketches with Matt Horne, and Ricky retaliated, but the clash has now taken on a life of its own.”