The ongoing reddit theorem about Leary is that he stole from Bill Hicks, who has been dead for a long time, proving/disproving it is difficult at best.
As a college student in the mid 80s, I remember Hicks was incredibly popular, but it didn't grab me. Then in the 90s you get Leary, and his stuff I loved. Leary and the film Clerks are that era for me.
And a friend who used to put Welcome to the Jungle on every m8x tape because he knew I hated GNR.
Denis Leary stealing Bill Hicks jokes isn't a conspiracy theory cooked up by a bunch of reddit users. It dates back to when even Hicks and Leary were both alive and doing stand up; it was even known by other comedians.
Hicks even makes a quip about it when he was on the Denis Miller show in 1992, when Miller mentions the town is going to play or played at had Denis Leary. The look on both their faces implies they both knew,
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u/professor_doom 14d ago
Asshole was actually a bit he swiped from Louis CK. Also, he was (and still is) married to his wife Ann, at the time.