Josh Ostrovsky, better known as "The Fat Jew," has been making headlines for the past few months. From his larger than life Seamless ad campaign to talks of a Comedy Central show, just last week it seemed like The Fat Jew was about to catapult his immense Internet fame to IRL heights. However, following a report that Ostrovsky signed with talent agency CAA, there has been a firestorm of backlash from comedians and the media alike.
From headlines accusing Ostrovsky of theft to others calling for Instagram to ban his account entirely, the online community has made Ostrovsky the poster child for Internet plagiarism. Overnight, he went from Internet sensation to thief devoid of any original talent or humor. While this may or may not be true, there appears to be a far worse perpetrator of joke theft. Sup, @fuckjerry?
While The Fat Jew has been accused of often posting jokes that don't belong to him (though one comedian argues this isn't necessarily the case, nor a bad thing), Fuck Jerry appears to do something far worse. He has been accused of tweeting other people's jokes as his own and then Instagramming the tweets from his hugely popular Instagram account, thus directing people back to his own Twitter account.
So why are we only talking about Ostrovsky's rampant theft? Because he signed with CAA and was in talks to have a show with Comedy Central? Fuck Jerry has a content partnership (whatever that means) with Funny or Die and has plans to build a "long-term sustainable brand" (okay, Sonja Morgan). Oh, and as of publication, Fuck Jerry has more followers than the Fat Jew.
And here's the other thing, say what you want about him, but the Fat Jew is a funny motherfucker. And not because he posts recycled memes and tweets. I don't follow him for jokes that I've already seen five times that day. I follow him for the aspects of his account that showcase his personality. His captions are where his originality (or his interns') shines through. For example, this tweet (which he credited, by the way) is not that funny. The caption is why I double-tapped.
The Fat Jew's captions make me laugh harder than any meme I've ever seen. Meanwhile, Fuck Jerry's captions (if he even bothers to add one) alternate between "vibes," "mood," "current mood" and "Mondays."
Yawn.
Oh and have you seen the video of The Fat Jew conducting Soul Cycle for the homeless? Or him as DJ Leatherhouse, a world renown DJ who never lets the beat drop? This guy is funny and original and, frankly, he doesn't even need to steal jokes. He's just lazy.
I'm not arguing that what the Fat Jew has been accused of doing isn't wrong. Plagiarism is never okay. However, to those who say he is a talentless hack, you're only half right. So if you're looking to go after someone who is solely profiting off the ideas of others, take your pitchforks elsewhere.
If Instagram were to shut down both @TheFatJewish and @FuckJerry today, Ostrovsky could take his brand of weirdness somewhere else and still be funny. Tebele? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯