You can see the stolen joke in this video (warning, profanity in the video):
And this press release explains all the sordid details of Stephen Colbert's thievery:
Air America Host Sues Stephen Colbert for $65 Million
SEPTEMBER 19, 2007 (LOS ANGELES, CA) Cenk Uygur, host of Air America's morning show "The Young Turks" is suing Stephen Colbert of "The Colbert Report"for $65 million. Mr. Uygur charges that Mr. Colbert has stolen his jokes on many occasions, but he can prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that his "Klingon joke" of September 7th was directly pilfered by Mr. Colbert and recycled on his September 11th program on Comedy Central.
Mr. Uygur is considering adding Comedy Central, MTV Networks, Viacom, Bus Boy Productions, the head of Bus Boy Productions, Jon Stewart, to his lawsuit. Anyone and everyone related to stealing the aforementioned joke should "lawyer up" according to Mr. Uygur.
Mr. Uygur explained, "Today's word is: lawsuit."
He added, "As OJ would say, 'Think you can steal my sh**? Up against the wall mother f**ker.' I couldn't have said it better myself, that's why I didn't; I just quoted him instead."
As to the large sum of money sought in compensatory and punitive damages, Uygur explained, "If a pair of lost pants is worth $65 million, then my jokes are worth a hell of a lot more. How do you value the gift of laughter? I think the Mastercard commercials nailed it. Priceless!"
Uygur added, "Except this time it has a price and it's $65 million."
Then Uygur added, "Look, he's messing with my livelihood. That's how I put food on my kid's table. If I had kids, that's definitely where I would put the food. Plus, my girlfriend won't have sex with me anymore because she says I've lost my sense of humor. I told her I didn't lose it, it was stolen. I looked it up, they have a legal word for it: it's called loss of consortium. That means no more hanky-panky and it costs big time in lawsuit world."
Uygur added, "I have nothing further to add."
Since the joke was stolen in California, the suit will be filed in the state of California with California laws controlling. Since the joke was transmitted across state lines and used in New York , there might be federal charges as well.
Irrefutable visual proof of the stolen Klingon joke can be found on "The Young Turks" website at http://www.theyoungturks.com/story/2007/9/19/1163/40077. Uygur added, "It is irrefutable."
"The Young Turks" airs live on nationally syndicated Air America Radio and XM Satellite Radio, Monday - Friday, 6:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. ET. The program also streams simultaneously as a first of its kind live video show on http://www.theyoungturks.com."The Young Turks" is hosted by Cenk Uygur, who is also known for his blogs on The Huffington Post and AOL's News bloggers. Recent guest on"The Young Turks" include Senator John Kerry, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Jimmy Carter, Reverend Jesse Jackson, conservative pundit Mary Matalin, NBC's Brian Williams, ABC's Sam Donaldson, Actor Matt Dillon, General Wesley Clark, Ralph Nader, Pat Buchanan, amongst numerous others.
Reader Comments ( Page 7 of 37)
91. It is a joke! Grow up. It's not worth all that money. That sounds selfish and greedy!
bob at 1:00PM on Sep 20th 2007
92. colbert was much funnier
terry at 1:00PM on Sep 20th 2007
93. Colbert's version of the joke was far better, and it was different setup. Therefore, it is no way the suit will be in his favor. The joke would have been in the context as the other person to definitely show copying.
Sunshine at 1:08PM on Sep 20th 2007
94. Sorry.......He took your lame joke up a notch....Still lame though. If I were you I wouldn't draw attention to the authorship in the first place. Jokes are free domain unless you are a comedian of which you are not even in a far distant neighborhood fringe area. Plus his improved version would not apply anyway. The lameness of the joke is only topped by the sad bid for attention this pathetic diatribe portrays. What a waste of time.
Jackie at 12:56PM on Sep 20th 2007
95. There's a huge difference: Colbert's joke was funnier. Stop grabbing for straws, both of your writing teams consist of nerds that like Star Trek. Big whoop.
David McCutcheon at 12:57PM on Sep 20th 2007
96. So where did the joke's effect fall on the Laugh-o-Meter? Was it Hilarious or Guffaw-Funny or Just-a- Smile-and-a-Tee-Hee? A joke is only as good as the one telling it but if you have an audience full of dense people the joke may turn out to be worthless. Next time, the writer might try suing because the joke wasn't presented well enough. Where will it end? No more jokes without a disclaimer attached? That'll get the laughs, eh?
J Lea at 12:57PM on Sep 20th 2007
97. Wow....fighting over a joke that wasn't funny in the first place. Stephen Colbert's version was funnier anyway...
flameaxelviii at 3:29PM on Sep 20th 2007
98. Personally, I doubt many people watch or listen to your show anyway. Everyone I know did not have the slightest idea who you were yesterday - Also, we all agree your joke was not funny, Colbert's was. You should be paying him for the free publicity this frivoless lawsuit is getting you. Sorry, but it was probably a coincidence you both mentioned Klingons. SIGNED - A TRUE COLBERT FAN..
fran g at 2:36PM on Sep 21st 2007
99. This is retarded. Either this guy is joking, or he's just a plain moron. OMG HE MADE A KLINGON REFERENCE!
Stephen Colbert is total nerd - he's admitted to playing Dungeons and Dragons, he's in love with Star Wars - what surprise is it that he knows something about Star Trek? This is very basic humor derived from the surface of the Star Trek universe - if you know what a Klingon is, you know they're into honor. And since Colbert is a fan of this stuff, what surprise is it that this kind of joke surfaces in his show? It's all purely coincidence - this asshole is simply jealous of Colbert's success, and it's clouding his judgment.
Kris at 1:04PM on Sep 20th 2007
100. If stealing jokes was actionable, Milton Berle would have spent half his life in court. Radioboy needs to get a life and remember that the sincerest form of flattery is imitation. Take Colbert's use of your joke as a compliment and move on. Come up with new jokes or go get a real job.
Darren at 1:06PM on Sep 20th 2007
101. I think your argument is very valid, but you need to show a little respect. Sure... he stole your joke but if you're gonna go call him a motherfucker in a video that will be all over the internet I don't see how any justice system will award you that insane sum of money.
Just present the evidence and let the cards fall... there's really no need for slander.
tdrummer248 at 1:04PM on Sep 20th 2007
102. Oh, PLEASE. To compare "honor" to Klingons isn't stealing your joke; it's a pretty obvious connection. This guy starts his rant by ripping off the Mastercard commercial (as so many comics do), "but humor? Priceless." He can't have it both ways, and needs to get over himself.
Yvaughn at 1:05PM on Sep 20th 2007
103. Two people making a SIMILAR joke about Honor involving Klingons is NOT stealing from each other. You may as well sue every Trekkie on the planet.
Ben at 4:35PM on Sep 20th 2007
104. I BET IF THE ORIGINATOR OF THE "DO YOU HAVE PRINCE ALBERT IN A CAN" JOKE SUED ALL WHO USED IT, HE'D BE A BILLIONAIRE. WHAT WOULD ONYX BLACKMAN THINK ABOUT HIS TEACHER NOW?
clr855 at 1:07PM on Sep 20th 2007
105. Given the ratings of air America they have to make money some way 65M could keep them on air for a while. lol
Tom at 1:06PM on Sep 20th 2007