I hate patriotism. I can't stand it, man—makes me fuckin' sick. It's a round world last time I checked. - Bill Hicks


Bill Hicks was the angry voice of reason for the disenfranchised and foul mouthed street criminals of his time—he was the man who smoked in the face of cancer. If you don't know who Bill Hicks was, do yourself a favour, click into a new tab, Google the comedian, and watch everything he ever did as the man was a savant imo (then come back and read the rest of this article, please.)

Sadly though, the world only got to listen to his ramblings for a mere 16-years as he died from pancreatic cancer in 1994 at the young age of 32, however, in his short time above ground Hicks proved to be one of the most influential comics of all time. And as with any well known person who dies young—especially a controversial one—rumours have run rampant following his death.

In the case of Hicks' death, none of those rumours are more prolific, and bizarre, than the notion that Hicks faked his death to become conspiracy monger Alex Jones. A quick Google search will bring you to hundreds of blog posts on the topic and self made videos crowd youtube as theorist attempt to further the conspiracy. While it's truly an intense amount of crazy, the idea has lived on the internet so long that—apart from the true believers—it has become an in-joke for redditors, channers, and a rogue crew of Alex Jones fans (potato-men?).

Most importantly though, this conspiracy seems to really fucking annoy Alex Jones—a 9/11 truther who has spread the notion that the kids killed in Sandy Hook were actors and the Quebec mosque shooting was a false flag attack.

"I'm sick of hearing about Bill Hicks," lamented Jones on a recent appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience. "It hurts me that they're so dumb, they don't know I'm my own person, Alex Jones."

So, with that annoyance in mind, why don't we take an in-depth look at the theory?

The idea's first major appearance on the web was in 2006 in thread posts form on the forums Godlike Productions and Doppelganger and Identity Research Society. The theory, like all good conspiracies, is fractured as hell, so in order to explain I'm going to attempt to compile the most widely "accepted" ideas. First things first, the question of why Hicks decided to give up the possibility of being the voice of a generation to become a potatoman by the name of Alex Emerick Jones.

One massive branch of the theory revolves around a man named Kevin Booth. Booth's production company, Sacred Cow Productions, was behind comedy films for the likes of Hicks, Rogan, and Stanhope—and Booth also produced Hicks' posthumous comedy records. It was co-founded by Hicks and Booth in the early 90s but, since the comedian's death, it's one shining star has been, you guessed it, Alex Fuckin' Jones. So, long story short, many believe that Booth is actually the man with the plan who had Hicks switch up characters much like in pro wrestling.

Another widely held explanation by the theorists on why Hicks decided to play the character of Alex Jones full time is, well, they say Jones is a CIA disinfo agent put into the AM shock jock scene to discredit actual radio hosts. Here's a portion of a popular blog post explaining it:


Evidence indicates that Bill Hicks transitioned himself into a new 'right wing' talk-radio conspiracy-minded shock jock just as some in government were raising the alarm about Timothy McVeigh 'lone wolf' type domestic terrorists being inspired by AM radio talk jocks. Also it was the advent of the brand-new internet-era and so the timing was perfect to insert a glib provoking-agent into the 'alternative media' scene— someone who could get out front and the lead patriotic Americans around in circles. And so Bill Hicks apparently went to work for the CIA— transforming himself into Alex Jones, the new 'info-warrior'.

In order to become a new man, the theorists posit that he utilized "plastic surgery, testosterone, growth hormone, larynx surgery, and cosmetics." However, the one thing that people freak out about is that Jones and Hicks seemingly have similar teeth (seriously, a lot of work has gone into proving they have the teeth thing,) they have also done vocal comparisons and believe Jones' voice is the same as one Hicks used, at times, in his comedy.

Some dude even made a gif about the teeth! Photo via dublinsmickdotcom

There is, of course, the bonkers list of reasons that are IRREFUTABLE PROOF that the two are one man, this includes them