The long-running feud between Joe Rogan and Carlos Mencia has been one of comedy’s most talked-about disputes, but how it began has never been fully explained in public.
In a recent appearance on Club Shay Shay, comedian Bobby Lee shared what he described as the first time he had ever told the story, pointing to a physical altercation at a Los Angeles pool hall as the possible starting point.
Lee has a personal history with both men. Mencia was one of two comedians who first discovered him, alongside Pauly Shore, when Lee was performing five-minute sets as an open micer in San Diego.
“He took me on the road and taught me so much about comedy,” Lee told host Shannon Sharpe. That relationship extended well beyond the stage. Mencia covered Lee’s electricity bills and bought him a car during a stretch when Lee had neither money nor transportation.
Lee was also close with Rogan during that same period, which put him at the center of the controversy when it eventually went public. Rogan filmed Lee without his knowledge and asked whether Mencia stole jokes.
Lee, unaware of the camera, kind of admitted that he did. When the footage was posted online, Lee found himself getting roasted by both sides.
But according to Lee, the animosity between Rogan and Mencia goes back further than the joke-stealing accusations. He said multiple people told him the same story over the years.
“What I had heard, from many people telling me this back in the day, is that when Rogan first moved to LA from Boston, Mencia and Joe…they went to play pool one night. I heard they got in a brawl,” Lee said. “It was a pretty bad brawl.”
The setting was a pool hall, and as for the cause, Lee said, “I don’t know what the brawl was about. I don’t know if it was about joke stealing. It could have been over a girl. It could have been over the actual game of pool.”
Lee acknowledged he could not confirm the account firsthand. “I don’t know if it’s verified or not, so I’m going to say this, but I think it’s a resentment that stems from the beginning.”
