‘Bitter’ comedian claims common Christmas joke is his ‘most stolen’ which he wrote in 2004

A comedian is being accused of being slightly 'bitter' over his 'most stolen joke'.

Watch below to see if you've heard it before:

Stealing a comedian's joke isn't funny and it can actually be illegal.

Joke theft is when you take credit for comedic material without the consent and acknowledgement from the other person.

In January 2016, comedian and actor Amy Schumer was accused of joke theft after some people thought she stole jokes from Tammy Pescatelli, Kathleen Madigan, and Wendy Liebman.

A video went viral on social media at the time, showing their material complied alongside similar Schumer jokes

Responding in a tweet at the time, she said: "I have never and would never steal a joke."

BBC

Now, stand-up Gary Delaney is known for his 'Christmas cracker jokes'.

But one joke in particular he claims is his 'most stolen joke by a mile'.

Taking to social media last week, the 50-year-old shared a clip of the joke he once performed on Live at the Apollo.

He claims he started including the joke in his stand-up sets in 2004, and has since found it on t-shirts, in joke books and included in panto scripts.

He added: "I get stolen from a lot. I’ve seen comics do sets made up 100 percent from my jokes.

"I’ve seen my jokes in joke books that got bigger advances than I did for my joke book as the actual author. I see them on Christmas cards etc. etc.

"Nothing you can do about it, but yeah it’s annoying.

"This particular joke gets repeated more at Xmas than Slade’s 'Merry Xmas Everybody' and Noddy describes that song as his pension."

Instagram/@garydelaneycomedian

"I went to buy a Christmas tree," the joke goes.

"The guy said, 'Are you going to put it up yourself?'

"I said, 'No, I was thinking the living room'."

However, in the comments section, some viewers were sceptical of the joke.

"You seem quite bitter in all your replies," one person wrote.

To which Delaney hit back: "I get stolen from a lot and people make a lot of money using my work without credit so I think it’s understandable really.

"I expect that you think it’s reasonable that you are paid to perform your job."

A second person said: "How do you feel about stolen jokes? I mean I can imagine it flattering, but also gutting that others get the laugh."

Well, it sounds like he feels pretty peeved to be honest.

"I bought a book of dad jokes that contained this classic," a third said.

"Didn’t think you were allowed to do stolen street jokes in an actual stand up set," a fourth added.