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title: Billy Eichner Accuses Burger King of Stealing His Act for New Ad
description: Seth Rogen and Judd Apatow have weighed in
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article:published_time: 2014-10-13T15:22:32.000Z
article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:13:45.375Z
og:title: Comedian Billy Eichner Is Accusing Burger King&#x27;s Latest Ad of Ripping Off His Act
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# Comedian Billy Eichner Is Accusing Burger King's Latest Ad of Ripping Off His Act

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by 

[Laura Stampler](https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/)


## Laura Stampler


Oct 13, 2014 3:22 PM UTC

![Man yells at two teens in Burger King ad](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3a602fb58876955a/69876052428a9e1da4cc47db/screen-shot-2014-10-13-at-10-49-40-am.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=3:2)

Burger King

by 

[Laura Stampler](https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/)


## Laura Stampler


Oct 13, 2014 3:22 PM UTC

One of Burger King’s [latest ads](http://www.ispot.tv/ad/7zRm/burger-king-shockingly-cheap-chicken-nuggets) (above) features a slightly unhinged, brown-haired man yelling at innocent passersby on the street. But according to [comedian Billy Eichner](http://www.funnyordie.com/billyonthestreet), host of _Billy on the Street_ on Fuse, there’s only room for one slightly unhinged, yelling street interviewer.

Eichner, who has even gotten [David Letterman to exchange a few screams](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDK6p1-tX5s), took to Twitter Sunday night to accuse Burger King of ripping off his signature schtick — in an overall unfunny rip off:

> [](https://twitter.com/billyeichner/status/521461513794498561)

> [](https://twitter.com/billyeichner/status/521461832435765251)

> [](https://twitter.com/billyeichner/status/521463570525995008)


> [](https://twitter.com/billyeichner/status/521521612274040832)

Eichner fans — including celebrities — have tweeted out their displeasure:

> [](https://twitter.com/billyeichner/status/521549189277581312)

> [](https://twitter.com/JuddApatow/status/521525663229296640)


> [](https://twitter.com/jondaly/status/521473491522969600)

> [](https://twitter.com/michaelianblack/status/521560418007793664)

Burger King and Horizon Media, [the ad agency credited with making the spot](http://www.ispot.tv/ad/7zRm/burger-king-shockingly-cheap-chicken-nuggets), did not immediately respond when asked for comment.

This isn’t the first time a big company has been accused of ripping off an artist’s act. In September, the band [OKGo alleged that Apple](http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-09-09/ok-go-apple-ripped-off-our-video-for-the-iphone-6-event) copied the visual effects used in its VMA-winning music video _The Writing’s on the Wall_ in a recent ad.

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