| "Asshole" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Single by Denis Leary | |
| from the album No Cure for Cancer | |
| Released | 1993 |
| Genre | Comedy rock |
| Length | 4:26 |
| Label | A&M |
| Songwriter(s) | |
"Asshole" is a song by American comedian Denis Leary, released as the only single from his album No Cure for Cancer in 1993.
In a 2008 appearance on The Opie and Anthony Show , comedian Louis CK claimed that Leary stole his "I'm an asshole" routine, which was then expanded upon and turned into a hit song by Leary. [1] On a later episode of the same show, Leary challenged this assertion by claiming that he (Leary) co-wrote the song with Chris Phillips. [2]
In North America, the music video for "Asshole" received airplay on MTV and MuchMusic in a censored form. In Australia, the song became a hit; it reached No. 2 on the ARIA Singles Chart, [3] ended 1994 as Australia's 26th most successful single, [4] earned a Platinum sales certification, [4] and was voted No. 1 on the Triple J Hottest 100 poll of 1993. [5] The song also found some success in New Zealand, where it peaked at No. 22 on the RIANZ Singles Chart, [6] and in the United Kingdom, reaching No. 58 on the UK Singles Chart in January 1996. [7]
On August 3, 2016, Leary appeared on the US talk show The Late Late Show with James Corden , during which he performed an updated version of the song in character as Bill Clinton, in duet with James Corden playing a caricature of US Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and criticizing rival candidate Donald Trump. For broadcast, the "-hole" part of the title was bleeped, a fact that is discussed by Leary and Corden during the song. [8]
Leary and Jimmy Fallon performed a version with updated lyrics on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on January 23, 2025.
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA) [4] | Platinum | 70,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||