The contagious, gag-repeating virus that so infamously befell David Letterman a few weeks ago was apparently also contracted last Friday by Jason Segel, who regaled his host at the Ed Sullivan Theater with yet another story about his ween-baring escapades on the set of Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Yesterday on Ellen, meanwhile, Segel shared the same anecdote — literally the same one, almost verbatim down to the "Dockers" punchline. The look on Ellen's face is priceless: kind of the knowing, disbelieving grin of a woman praying her audience missed Segel's Letterman appearance and wondering how the imaginative writer of the weekend's top comedy can't find a more clever alternative for "third-string Chippendales model." But it did play well with the ladies, so hey. [video by Molly McAleer]
Jason Segel's Nudity Anecdote So Good That He Told It Twice
10:45 AM on Tue Apr 22 2008
By STV
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25 comments









The contagious, gag-repeating virus that 
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That story might be the only long thing Segel possesses.
Ben Stiller used to do the same thing, maybe not quite word-for-word, but he'd do it on all the shows. Letterman, Conan, Regis, Today, Leno, Jimmy Kimmel, he'd just tell the same stories over and over, all over the course of two or three days.
Heck, Stiller was so bad, you could watch him tell a story on Dave, then wait an hour and watch him do it again on Conan. Maybe the dude from HIMYM is still just a talk show newbie, or maybe he has a role model.
I have the hugest crush on him. He can do whatever he wants.
He also recycled many of the exact same stories when he appeared at the Apatow Paleyfest panel, as well as the Q&A he did at the AFI screening last week.
Uh, not that I'm stalking him or following his every move or reading every inch of his press because I'm madly in love with him or have fantasized about changing my name to Wendy_Segel or anything.
He told the exact same anecdotes during Apatow's PaleyFest panel and his Q&A at AFI's Arclight screening last week, too.
Uh, not that I'm stalking him or following his every move or reading every inch of his press or entertaining detailed fantasies about becoming Wendy_Segel or anything.
Ah, crap, the dreaded double-post! Apologies to all.
I was once told Letterman repeats jokes because he's a relentless perfectionist. It really bothers him when jokes bomb, so he tells it again in hopes a slight twist gets a better response. It's probably why he takes the same jokes back to the drawing board and reworks them. He doesn't accept even a small failure lightly apparently.
I for one hope he's storing up his funny for another one like FSM 'cause I laughed lots at that movie. I also didn't think I could love Paul Rudd more than I already did, but now...yup, I do.
@Wendy_Kroy: I think you did that on purpose.
@Magister: Yeah, there are quite a few celebs who do it. Probably has something to do with being an actor - they're fine when someone else writes the material, but when they have to actually come up with it on their own, they're a bit...limited.
@major disaster: Yeah, I've noticed the same thing, once something works...
What has always bothered me about Stiller and I've commented on it before is that he generally tries to tape all of the New York shows on one day, then he flies out and does all of the LA shows on the next, so it's a lot like Molly's tape of Segel; It's not only the exact same stories, but if you watch more than a talk show or two, you're subjected to them over and over within just a couple of days.
Shania hates chicken salad.
Shania hates mayo all right, and she can't eat chicken salad, thats no joke. We gave it to her once, she threw up in the limo - the lady hates chicken salad. So I bring out a bunch of tuna fish sandwiches - she still doesn't believe me - I say, Shania, I'm allergic to mayo - which, by the way, is a lie. Shania still doesn't believe me so I eat two of the sandwiches in front of her to prove it. So she eats one and a half sandwiches, one and a half sandwiches... before she realizes, its chicken salad.
oh we train them well for press junkets. it's good to see he actually has decent delivery
jason segel and nicholas stoller introduced the movie at the arclight and took pics of the crowd (this was 830pm showing on Friday). i thought i was part of some special group but then i found out they did it 15 minutes earlier at the Grove for the 8:15pm showing. also, it was kind of weird seeing his penis on the big screen when he was standing 10 feet away from me. it was like voyeurism but you know i paid $15 for it.
I love that sorry. I could hear it at least three more times. He is adorable.
@MisterMuggles: he's 6'4", his entire body is long.
I didn't know actors had to come up with something brand new for every publicity appearance. If it's a good anecdote, it's a good anecdote. Use it.
And I think it's safe to say that Ellen and Letterman don't have the biggest overlap, audience-wise.
I am "Sarah Marshall." I dumped Jason Segel. I telephoned Jason Segel from the airport, I came to his apartment, I dumped him while he was naked. Those three months away from him made me realize that I do not have to hear the same story 3 times a week, every week, for five years, anymore. Life does not have to be a Rolodex of yellowed, fading punchlines about third string Chippendale dancers.
I do, however, wish I'd stuck around to see the Dracula rock opera.
@Wendy_Kroy: Wendy, it was funnier before you apologized!
@applejuice: Yeah, like you were making a statement of repeating yourself.
If it's a funny story, say it twice or more. What's funny is that he's acting it out like a monologue, with the laughs in the right place and everything.
@applejuice: Alrighty, lesson learned - I'll now claim I was being very meta with my duplicated comments, instead of just being very impatient with the "submit" button.
Kudos. That was very well-edited.
And he told a half-assed version of the same story on Leno last night!
And he retells the same exact story, complete with mention of button-up and Dockers (and how hard it is to pick out the break-up outfit), in the May issue of Glamour.
Am I the only person to whom this seems completely insignificant? Yeah he probably shouldn't have told the same story word for word, but it's basically the perfect anecdote to march out when on talk shows promoting your new movie that's based on the story. I don't blame him.
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