This Roast is already a-cooking.
The sixth episode of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 9 challenged the queens to write jokes and deliver them in the so-called "The National Drag Convention Roast."
Given that Gottmik is a two-time Snatch Game winner, excelled in all acting challenges in the series (which lean into comedy), and also won the Roast challenge of Drag Race season 13, the queens considered her an immediate frontrunner to win the roast. That wasn't the case, however, as Angeria Paris VanMicheals and Plastique Tiara were deemed the winners of the challenge.
This latest episode of All Stars 9 dropped on Paramount+ on Friday, June 14. Only a few hours later, X user @kelIyanne shared a video comparing Gottmik's jokes to previously aired jokes from comedian Nikki Glaser.
Scroll through for a breakdown of the Nikki Glaser jokes that fans are accusing Gottmik of stealing, and how the queen responded.
Nikki Glaser to Jewel ('Comedy Central Roast of Rob Lowe')
During the Comedy Central Roast of Rob Lowe — which aired in September 2016 — Glaser had jokes from everyone in the audience, including folk singer and poet Jewel.
"Jewel, I don't want to badmouth you since God already did," Glaser said.
During the Roast of All Stars 9, Gottmik delivered a joke that went:
"Girl, I'm not gonna stand up here and badmouth you, because clearly god already has."
Nikki Glaser to Rob Riggle ('Comedy Central Roast of Rob Lowe')
Another Glaser joke from 2016's Comedy Central Roast of Rob Lowe was directed at actor, comedian, and former U.S. Marine officer Rob Riggle.
She joked, "Rob Riggle, ugh, I want to thank you so much for fighting the war against terrorism and subtlety."
Gottmik had the following joke for Shannel during the All Stars 9 Roast:
"You are consistently fighting the war against homophobia… and subtlety, clearly."
Nikki Glaser to Cybill Shepherd ('Comedy Central Roast of Bruce Willis')
Glaser was also featured in the Comedy Central Roast of Bruce Willis in July 2018. During this special event for the A-list Hollywood actor, Glaser also threw in a few jabs at actress Cybill Shepherd.
"Her resume is insane," Glaser said about Shepherd. "If you look at it, it's just like: model, actor, singer… you name it, she's f*cked it."
On the All Stars 9 Roast, Gottmik delivered this joke about Plastique Tiara:
"You guys, if you didn't know, her resume is insane! Influencer, dancer, actor… you name it, she's f*cked it."
Nikki Glaser to Sean Hayes ('Comedy Central Roast of Alec Baldwin')
The Comedy Central Roast of Alec Baldwin, which aired in September 2019 and was hosted by Will & Grace star Sean Hayes, brought back Nikki Glaser.
The comedian opened her set with a joke for the host that went, "Will & Grace was really the best… you could do."
Gottmik had a similar during her set aimed at Nina West:
"Girl, for real, your run in Hairspray was truly the best… you could do."
Gottmik's other jokes on 'All Stars 9'
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Some responses to the viral X video allege that Gottmik's entire set was made up of stolen jokes. However, Gottmik had two other jokes that were not included in that comparison video.
For one, the season 13 queen opened her Roast set with the joke:
"I truly have not seen these many gay outcasts together since I was getting gang-banged by the cast of Glee."
Gottmik also delivered the following joke:
"If you don't know anything about me, I'm transgender. But I am not the only person in this room that has transitioned. I was once a girl, and Carson [Kressley] was once relevant."
The point remains that four of Gottmik's six jokes in the Roast were strikingly similar to jokes from Nikki Glaser in televised special events. Out has reached out to Gottmik and Nikki Glaser for comment.
In the meantime, let's unpack a few things here.
Is this 'business as usual' for the show?
In season 7, Kathy Griffin told Ginger Minj and Mrs. Kasha Davis — who were working as a duo on "The DESPY Awards" challenges — during rehearsals that most of their material were jokes that she had already heard before.
As recently as season 16, Plane Jane and Q were accused of stealing a joke from Katya, but it was subsequently clarified that the joke had existed even before Katya delivered it.
Generally speaking, RuPaul and the Drag Race franchise as a whole have never really critiqued queens for "mopping" pop culture references, catchphrases, jokes, aesthetics, and so on. In fact, one could even argue that Ru has actively encouraged that practice over time, explaining that drag is all about referencing the world around us and poking fun at it.
Gottmik responded to the discourse.
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Following the discourse that ensued as a result of this video with side-by-side comparisons of Gottmik's jokes and Glaser's jokes, the All Stars 9 star responded with her own X post:
"Wait do you guys think everyone wrote their jokes!? loll [melting face emoji] [laughing emoji]. Nikki is my queen so reworking a few of her jokes was a DUH for me [nails emoji]. Love her."
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Gottmik then replied to a fan who asked if she's doing better after looking upset in Untucked.
"Definitely was going through it and hit a breaking point and couldn't stop crying. Will definitely have to get into it a bit on No Gorge [podcast]."
How are 'Drag Race' fans reacting to these comparisons between Gottmik and Nikki Glaser?
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Drag Race fans have shared varied reactions to this viral X video from @kelIyanne.
"What makes it worse is that Nikki's delivery was better across the board," @chrisphew responded.
"Not being her advocate but a LOT of queens borrow jokes from these celebrity roasts, they open the YouTube compilations and go for it, something like Pinterest being a moodboard for runway looks," @pieitchi wrote.
"This is actually frightening," @vivalasdrag replied.