Comic Relief: Musk kills comedy

I started this semester off absolutely elated to have a column dedicated to comedy. Finally, I could write about what I’m passionate about. Then, I got caught up with profiles and events and a couple of (painful) emergency listicles. Add my editor duties on top of that, and my beautiful little column fell through the cracks. However, I knew it was time for a resurrection to pay my respects to a very special man, the king of comedy, Elon Musk.

I probably wouldn’t even be allowed to write my column, since it was only a few weeks ago that Musk declared comedy to be legal again thanks to his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter. Musk’s Twitter profile can now be littered with all the dated iFunny memes a girl could dream of. 

Even better, Musk was able to liberate all Twitter comedians that rely on homophobia, racism and transphobia to win the small rush of adrenaline that comes with a couple hundred retweets from randos with no profile picture (as if those users weren’t already doing so). All of Musk’s fan club is free to post heinous, offensive, painfully unfunny Tweets such as superimposing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s face onto a nude body with saggy breasts. 

As always with Twitter, some actually funny people were able to turn Musk’s inane rules against him to create a great, very short-lived meme. By handing Musk eight dollars for a verification symbol, users could finally make parody accounts without utilizing the white circle emoji. From Nintendo to Chiquita, no one was safe. Maybe I clowned on Musk too quickly; comedy was back!

Musk was especially targeted during the online attacks. My personal favorite came from Chris Kluwe, who changed his Twitter page to match Musk’s own page.

“There is nothing better than waking up and enjoying a fresh, steaming cup of my own urine,” Kluwe tweeted earlier this month. “Such a tangy way to start the day, and it’s scientifically proven to help brain cells grow. If you want to be like me, drink your pee.” 

An absolutely classic gag, 10/10, no notes. 

However, nothing good can last forever (or even for a few weeks). I guess the goofball couldn’t take any goofs. Kluwe was promptly banned with many others following suit. 

To be honest, while I had the time of my life looking through the parody Tweets, I didn’t originally see them on Twitter. I’m embarrassed to admit this, but I actually saw them on TikTok. My For You page has been plagued with nonstop videos of men standing in front of Tweets they did not write. Honestly, I’m not sure what I did to someone at the TikTok headquarters to deserve such a vile curse. Seeing those videos honestly gives me the same level of rage that I imagine gamers get. Even further, they have the audacity to promote their Instagram handles in front of the stolen Tweets. 

But, like, at least take the effort to retype the tweet to make it seem like your own. If you’re going to profit off of someone else’s work, could you please put a little effort in? It’s not even that hard to copy and paste. One more screenshotted tweet and I may implode. 

Twitter creates the comedy of the internet. Any meme is just a regurgitated viral tweet. Only one person needs to say something original, typically on Twitter, before leeches from other platforms come to gain clout from it. It’s just like those TikTok commenters that say, “someone really said [insert the joke another commenter made].” I’m not sure who needs to hear this, but just so you know, we are all looking at the exact same comment section. 

My column used to be called “Who Cares?,” and honestly, I should’ve kept that title because really, who cares?

But I just can’t help it. My time on the internet, meant to bring me laughs, just makes me angry. Maybe my chronic annoyance is why I found a gray hair the other day. 

For me, comedy is an art. A person’s work should be sacred. So why is the average TikTok user able to get away with such theft? 

For non-internet comedians, people actually call out joke theft. James Corden just had to publicly tweet an apology for performing a joke similar to one from Ricky Gervais’ 2018 Netflix special. It’s likely Corden didn’t even write that bit. Still, he owned up to it and promoted Gervais’ work (which is an issue for another time).

“Saturday Night Live” also found itself in some hot water when viewers caught extreme similarities between their “Charmin Bears” sketch with Miles Teller and YouTuber Joel Haver’s “Toilet Paper Bears” video. Unlike Corden, “SNL” has not responded. Although, it seems Haver holds no grudge.

There’s also the greatest exposé of all time: “Amy Schumer’s ‘Parallel Thinking’ Compilation” which was posted on YouTube over six years ago. In the video, clips of Schumer are played alongside clips from other comedians such as Patrice O’Neal and John Mulaney revealing eerie similarities, that as much as Schumer may claim were due to  “parallel thinking,” are a huge hit to any credibility she has as a comic. 

Still, she has a prospering career which I don’t see slowing down any time soon. So, maybe while people call it out, it doesn’t even matter. Joke theft is happening everywhere. I may just be destined to sit and stew for the rest of my time on this planet.

While I spent my column word allotment complaining, I want to remind you that there are incredible, wonderfully original and creative comics out there deserving of your attention. You just need to fight through the plagiarism noise a little harder. 

I also want to say that the retweet button is right there. Use it. 

Kimberly Aguirre is a sophomore writing about comedy. She is also the arts & entertainment editor.