Companies deny dropping ‘Fat Jew’ over plagiarism
American Jewish comedian accused of stealing jokes, posting them unattributed on Instagram to his 5.7 million followers
Two companies have decided to discontinue projects with a Jewish comedian and social media hit facing a slew of plagiarism accusations, although both denied their decisions were related to the allegations.
TV network Comedy Central said the choice to part ways with social media sensation Josh Ostrovsky, who works under the moniker “The Fat Jew,” had been made “several months ago,” and that Ostrovsky’s project had not progressed to the pilot stage, Business Insider reported Monday.
Food-delivery service Seamless, for whom Ostrovsky had done an ad campaign, claimed the collaboration had always been scheduled to end in September.
Ostrovsky rose to fame through posting jokes on social media accounts, and his Instagram account, @TheFatJewish, has 5.7 million followers. He has been accused, however, of using other comedians’ material without giving them credit.
After Ostrovsky signed a deal with top Hollywood talent agency Creative Artists Authority last week, accusations from colleagues grew louder.
Comedian Davon Magwood penned an open letter on August 2 accusing the Jewish comedian of plagiarism, sharing an image he had posted that later appeared on Ostrovsky’s Instagram without attribution. “I’m not producing shit so you can make more money off of my work, no one is,” Magwood wrote.
A user on social network site Storify compiled a list of 50 jokes that the comedian had allegedly plagiarized. The list contained screenshots that showed Ostrovsky’s posts to be identical to jokes written by other comedians.
Ostrovsky recently gained brand endorsements and participated in several business ventures, including launching a wine brand, White Girl Rosé. He was also planning to publish his first book, “Money Pizza Respect,” this year.
In March, he was named one of “The 30 Most Influential People on the Internet” by Time magazine, along with Barack Obama, Kim Kardashian, Gwyneth Paltrow and Taylor Swift.
