Whisper to the mugger
James Corden , compared with Noel Fielding
Defuse a mugging by whispering something intriguing, so the mugger stops to lean in and listen.
“"You are never going to believe what's happened." … "They go like this, they go, 'What?'"”
The Late Late Show with James Corden (chat with Matthew Broderick), 2017quote source ↗find on YouTube ↗
“Because the rules mean they will put down their blade and respond, with a hushed tone: 'What is it?'”
Just for Laughs, Montreal, 2010quote source ↗find on YouTube ↗
Both hinge on whispering to a mugger until he stops to ask what; the framing and the whispered words differ.
- Premise 34/40
- Structure 20/30
- Punchline 14/30
- Premise34/40Both defuse a mugger by whispering, so the mugger stops to lean in and listen.
- Structure20/30Same whisper-then-pause shape, but Corden gives advice while Fielding tells a story about his own mugging.
- Punchline14/30Both land on the mugger asking what it is; the whispered lines themselves are worded differently.
Setup
Offers advice on the best way to handle a mugger
Setup
Describes an actual attempted mugging he went through
Turn
Whisper that they will never believe what's happened
Turn
Whispers Oi mate to the mugger
Punchline
The mugger pauses and asks what
Punchline
The mugger puts down the blade and asks, hushed, what is it
In the words themselves
0% of the meaningful words are shared. Shared words are highlighted in the quotes above.
Scores and beats are our editorial reading of the public record, not a ruling.
Context
When and where
Fielding did the 'whisper "Oi, mate" to a mugger' bit at Just for Laughs in Montreal in 2010. Corden told his version while chatting with Matthew Broderick on The Late Late Show in 2017.
What followed
Fielding tweeted 'Yes I believe this is my material x' in December 2017. The tweet resurfaced in 2022 during the Gervais row; No public response from Corden to Fielding was reported.
Receipts
Photos via Wikimedia Commons: James Corden by iDominick, CC BY-SA 2.0; Noel Fielding by Ella Mullins, CC BY 2.0