Billy Eichner Puts Burger King on Blast for Ripping Off His Act in Ad
In an ad for Burger King chicken nuggets that aired last night on Fox during its football programming, a vaguely unhinged man interviews two teens on the street in a bit that comedian Billy Eichner says is stolen from his act.
"How much would 10 of these cost from Burger King?" he asks the teens. After revealing the price ($1.49! For 10! What a deal?), the man with the microphone makes a weird, guttural noise and the teens mirror him. You could reasonably make the argument that the ad is in the vein of Eichner's own style, but the ambush, man on the street interview is hardly a novel concept for comedy or even a TV spot.
But Eichner, and his Billy on the Street series, has staked his rise to fame on his especially irreverent and spastic take on the genre—you also get why he wouldn't want a brand like Burger King trying to muscle in on his turf. He straight-up called Burger King out on Twitter last night.
Hey @BurgerKing-thanks for stealing my act for ur new commercial!! Except its not as funny & everyone knows u stole it. GET YOUR OWN IDEAS.
— billy eichner (@billyeichner) October 13, 2014
Other comedians have rallied in support of Eichner on Twitter:
Hey @burgerking, you were stupid if you think hiring some random actor to rip off @billyeichner was going to work. I WAS AVAILABLE!!!
— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) October 13, 2014
Yo @BurgerKing, stop stealing from the hilarious @billyeichner and stick to what you're good at: giving me diarrhea.
— Seth Rogen (@Sethrogen) October 13, 2014
“@billyeichner: Thank You @BuzzFeed!!! http://t.co/G9ibHKbeIi” they already ripped off McDonald's- what do you expect? Thieves!
— Judd Apatow (@JuddApatow) October 13, 2014
Please tweet @BurgerKing & tell them to stop stealing from #BillyOntheStreet. Then I'm going over there & I'm gonna FLAME BROIL HIS DICK.
— billy eichner (@billyeichner) October 13, 2014
Here's the ad in question, which is not funny.