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James Corden accused of copying Noel Fielding's 'whisper' joke in 2017 before using Ricky Gervais’ gag

Twitter users have taken a dig at the 'The Late Late Show' host for stealing the jokes from other comedians and slammed him for using Fielding's 'material'

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Five years ago, comedian Noel Fielding reportedly accused James Corden, 44, of using his "material" on 'The Late Late Show'. The 'Great British Bake Off' and 'Mighty Boosh' star tweeted the allegations in response to a fan's assertion that Corden "totally stole" his joke about distracting an armed robber by whispering. Corden has now been accused of doing the same with one of Ricky Gervais’ jokes, according to the Daily Mail. 

As rumors spread that one of James Corden's writers "f**ked him over," Gervais pointed the finger at the authors of 'The Late Late Show’ after the host used one of his jokes word-for-word on television during the Halloween episode. The latest argument started when Corden cracked a joke while discussing Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter. 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." Ironically, Corden's joke is nearly a word-for-word replica of Gervais' joke from 2018.

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Following the outcry, Gervais admitted that he had removed a tape of a fellow Briton retelling his 2018 joke about taking guitar lessons because he "started to feel sorry for him." Gervais even backed his colleague's comic after a Twitter user attacked the 'Gavin and Stacey' creator with whom he has had a number of run-ins over the years, including ridiculing him after he was barred by a New York eatery in October.

He replied, “No. I reckon one of the writers came up with it for him. I doubt he would knowingly just copy such a famous stand up routine word for word like that.” The incident was confirmed in a post as Corden expressed regret to Gervais and claimed to be unaware that the joke had been stolen as he tweeted, “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.”

In the earlier incident with Fielding, Corden said, "The best way to get out of being mugged” is to whisper, “You're never going to believe what's happened." He mimicked a perpetrator lowering a weapon and said, “Because they go like this: ‘What?’", adding, "And it gives you time, you just bolt." In response to a fan, Fielding tweeted, “Yes I believe this is my material x.”

Twitter users have taken a dig at Corden for stealing the jokes from other comedians as one user wrote, "Always said he was never funny I wonder how many other jokes he stole to."

Another one added, "He’s getting money for this. I think his wage went up last time. So he’s getting paid to be here. Extracurricular, extra work. Right? And so it's moonlighting. And they’ve given him a day off. And he’s contributing nothing."

One person said, "There are WHISPERS that you also steal from Noel Fielding. Gervais and Fielding are two of the best Sophie so at least you have the taste to steal from excellent real comics. Jennifer Saunders has a lot of great material - steal from her next!"

Another user suggested, "I truly believe that Corden must have pissed off one of his writers who then gave him a section of a hugely watched Ricky Gervais stand-up routine - So that Corden himself would get the flack for doing so…"

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