BU - Boston University OTR: Sometimes Cheaters Prosper

Sometimes Cheaters Prosper

Posted by Dorothy Kilgallen 10/14/2007 8:05 PM
Category: Tags: Ripley Holden, Blackpool, BUs Funniest Student, Damon Davidson

Recognize any of Damon Davidson’s non-stand-up? If you saw Damon win first place at the BU’s Funniest Student competition this weekend, you may have found his material familiar---that’s because he stole it. Hilarious!

Instead of doing stand-up in the stand-up comedy contest, dumb, devious Damon narrated a slideshow of graphics from the ready.gov website. The audience laughed hard enough to vote for him, but at least a couple of people knew they had seen this somewhere before…

A quick Google search reveals multiple websites with the same schtick, and some with the exact same jokes.

Damon (ironically) looks remarkably like the greedy, cheating arcade owner Ripley from the BBC miniseries Blackpool. It seems muttonchops make you more likely to do underhanded things. Just ask Chester A. Arthur.

+ 7 comments

Anonymous says,

Hey now, Dorothy.
Have you actually ever met Damon Davidson? He may have cheated, but he's still freaking hilarious. Give him a chance to defend himself at least before you make him out to be a conniving, muttonchopped evildoer. It takes a lot of courage to go in front of a group of people and do standup. I bet you haven't done it, so give him a break. I'm not condoning plagiarism, but take it down a notch, will ya? Posted 10/15/2007 3:40 PMReply

Dorothy Kilgallen says,

What was it you found hilarious about Damon? His jokes? The ones he didn't write?

I'm sure all the other competitors who got up in front of a group of people to do standup--with material they actually wrote--would agree that it takes courage. Posted 10/15/2007 8:08 PMReply

Anonymous says,

I don't see what the big deal is. Comedy is just as much about delivery as it is about content...sometimes even more so. Plus, not all of his material was "plagiarized", and he was funny enough to make the finals in the first place...

I'm interested to see what he would say about all this. Posted 10/16/2007 4:56 PMReply

Captain Walker says,

Yeah, Dorothy. That's like saying Marion Jones "cheated" just because she was doping during the Olympics. It takes a lot of skill to win an Olympic medal. I bet you haven't done it, so give her a break. Posted 10/17/2007 5:49 PMReply

Anonymous says,

Doping IS cheating. Posted 10/20/2007 07:17 AMReply

Captain Walker says,

So is telling someone else's jokes during a stand-up comedy competition.

It makes you (or your act) stronger through means other than your own. See the similarity? Posted 10/21/2007 08:12 AMReply

Anonymous says,

Annoymous=Damon Davidson Posted 10/29/2007 10:41 AMReply