He’s been dubbed the ‘King of Instagram’, brought us White Girl Rose and made the dad bod cool again—but now Instagram sensation, The Fat Jewish, is being called out for plagiarism.
Josh Ostrovsky, 31, from Manhattan’s Upper West side, made a name for himself posting memes on Instagram and performing outlandish antics for his 5.7 million Instagram followers.
Ostrovsky has parlayed his popularity into a money making operation, signing big brand sponsorships with the likes of Burger King and Virgin mobile. In one Burger King advertisement he poses topless on a floor covered with french fries. In another he tattooed a chicken fry logo on his chest, right below where his trademark ‘Chai’ necklace sits.
He’s signed with One Management as a male model, launched a wine brand, and has a contract with Hachette Book Group to publish his debut book, ‘Money, Pizza, Respect,’ in October. To top it off, just this month The Hollywood Reporter (THR) announced that Ostrovsky signed with Creative Artists Agency, one of Hollywood’s top talent agencies.
In an interview last month, Ostrovsky spoke to THR about his plans to take over Hollywood and “get uncomfortably famous, develop a raging drug problem, then spiral out of control and surround myself with people who only want to use me while simultaneously alienating people who actually love and care about me.”
But that goal may be a little further out of reach as the internet’s wrath descends upon the comedian. Owners of the original material are calling out Ostrovsky for plagiarising jokes. Well known comedians such as Patton Oswalt and Chelsea Peretti have chimed in to show their support.
The comedian’s social media feed consists of screenshots of memes and photos from across the web which he would share along with an often uproarious caption.
When asked where he digs his jokes from he joked to Yahoo! News that he has a team of interns working out of the waxing room of nail salon in Queens that help him search the Internet for the craziest, most absurd material to share with his fans.
Instagram, which has strict content and plagiarism regulations, has not removed the content or issued a statement. Ostrovsky had not responded to a request for comment, but one can imagine he’s sipping on a glass of White Girl Rose while sitting in a hot tub filled with chili.
