A Brief History Of The Rise And Fall Of Carlos Mencia
Many Comics Insist He Stole Jokes
Joe Rogan is the perhaps the most reputable comedian who insists Mencia repeatedly stole material from a wide variety of comics. In his 2007 confrontation-turned-viral-video at The Comedy Store in Los Angeles, CA, Rogan accuses Mencia of widespread joke-stealing in front of a packed house. Eventually, he is granted a microphone to air his grievances.
It's a brutal standoff between Rogan and Mencia, and later, a large group of respected comedians back Rogan's claims while standing on The Comedy Store's infamous back porch. Accusers present included Ari Shaffir (Comedy Central's This is Not Happening), Steve Rannazzisi (FX's The League), and Jimmy Kimmel's longtime warm-up comic, Don Barris. In a separate incident, George Lopez mentioned on Howard Stern's show that he recognized his material in Mencia's HBO Special.
Mencia Doubled Down And Bragged About Stealing Jokes
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Warning: the above video contains repeated profanity and offensive language.
In the 2010 Showtime documentary I Am Comic, Mencia goes so far as to admit, without question, not only that he steals jokes, but that he will always steal funny material. Mencia compares the practice to rappers sampling tracks, while missing the obvious point that rappers have to pay for the rights to copyrighted material to use in their music.
Instead of helping, his brazen attitude further tarnished his name within the comedy industry.
He Made Insensitive Katrina Jokes
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Warning: the above video contains repeated profanity and offensive language.
Mencia also made several different jokes about Hurricane Katrina victims in 2005 and 2006. His off-color material even got him uninvited to Mardi Gras in 2009. While not nearly as bad as having a career in tatters after accusations of plagiarism, getting uninvited to a party hosted by arguably the most open-invitation event in America had to sting a little.
He Is Widely Hated In The Comedy Community
Mencia is frequently named as one of the most hated comics of his time (along with Dane Cook), with critics citing his use of racial jokes as a crutch. Comedians primarily despise him because of his joke-stealing, and even moreso because of his casual attitude about it.
He has been confronted on numerous occasions, and has yet to make peace with the comedy community at large. Whether he can turn things around and improve industry relationships has yet to be seen.
He Lost Weight And Went To Therapy
After his fall from grace, Mencia decided to work on himself. He eventually lost 70 pounds after a diabetic friend who was on his way to have a toe removed called him fat. He also saw a therapist to help him work through his career fallout. In a 2013 interview before a Charleston, SC performance, he admitted:
"It's so easy to become angry and to become bitter, but you have to grow and change and evolve and become better."
He May Bring Back 'Mind of Mencia' (Or Something Like It)
Though he has shied away from television work for some time, Mencia may have not one, but two television shows in the works. Mencia claims the first could be a dark, edgy half-hour program. He offered few details as to what this tonally different show would be about.
The second show he briefly discussed would be in the same vein as Mind of Mencia. The show would tackle current events, presumably using his social commentary as a starting point. No networks or partnerships were mentioned in picking up either of the projects.
He Started A Podcast
Mencia started a podcast in June 2017. So far, there are only a handful episodes, and they appear to be infrequent and irregularly timed. The podcast has a four-star rating on iTunes, but only two reviews.
One of the reviews states, "Carlos you need to do more podcast." [sic]
He Is Workshopping His Next Special
In early 2018, Mencia began the process of producing his next special. He named HBO, Showtime, and Netflix as possible distributors, but so far, there have been no official announcements from any party.
After being on the road and away from the spotlight for so long, one has to imagine Mencia has quite a bit of material honed. The special may come out sometime in 2018, and depending on how it is received, it could be a big part of his comeback to mainstream comedy.
He Never Actually Stopped Doing Stand-Up
Mencia has spent the last few years “completely nose to the grindstone on the road," touring across the US in primarily smaller venues. He has stayed very connected with his core fan base, and they appear to have continued to embrace him regardless of any accusations levied against him.
Mencia claims he'll always be touring. "Even if I was on the No. 1 TV show and I was making a million-and-a-half an episode, I would still be doing stand-up on the road."
He Worked Hard To Earn His Fame
Mencia has been in the comedy game for a long time - almost 30 years. He started at The Comedy Store, one of Los Angeles's premier comedy clubs, in the late '80s and early '90s. Eventually he released two HBO specials, his first comedy album, Take a Joke America, and booked an appearance on Comedy Central Presents by 2002.
Three years later, the network gave him Mind of Mencia, and he became a household name.
His Last Special Was In 2011
His last comedy special, Carlos Mencia: New Territory, presented by Comedy Central, didn't make a huge impact, and in fact, many weren't ready to see Mencia run his material with the still-recent controversy hanging over his act. Having actually admitted to joke-stealing in 2010, his reputation was still on shaky ground.
With a rallying cry of "too soon," Mencia quietly released his special and went back to touring.
His Show Was Unimaginably Huge
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- Sara Csurilla, U.S. Air Force
- Wikimedia Commons
- Public domain
Mind of Mencia hit the air soon after the groundbreaking Chappelle's Show was abruptly canceled. Capturing a similar market to Chappelle's Show enabled Mencia's weekly program to quickly become Comedy Central's second highest rated program (behind perennial juggernaut South Park) by its second season.
The show ran for a total of four seasons from 2005-2008 until Mencia pulled the plug, saying it would feel "redundant" to continue with the program. Mencia never remarked whether it had anything to do with accusations against him or not, and chose instead to focus on his growth, asserting "there's a lot of different doors that are opening for me." However, those doors quickly shut once Mencia's alleged plagiarism caught up to him.
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