During her speech, in which her role was intended simply to be that of mistress of ceremonies, Clinton quipped that Gandhi used to run a gas station in St. Louis. The audience, momentarily caught off guard, was seen scratching its collective head asking, "Really?" Clinton then let them off the hook when she said, "No really. I'm kidding. Badaboom bada bing."

The professor, David Robertson, was angered because he had told Clinton the joke backstage before the show, claiming that she had stolen the material he planned to use in his own comedy bit scheduled for after dinner. He immediately called police to report what he described as a theft.

“The joke goes, ‘Gandhi… you remember… he ran a 7-11 down in St. Louis...' Not a gas station, fer cryin' out loud!” complained Robertson. “Not only does she steal my joke, she tells it wrong! How does that make me look?”

The incident caused other legal experts to debate whether an intellectual property - in this case, a joke - stolen or plagerized, and then told wrong, could still be considered plagerism. "Normally one would categorize this incident as a parody or satire which would not be so harshly regarded by the courts," explained Clinton's attorney, Haverhill Watkins. "Also, not having performed the material before an audience or other recording media - in effect, not having yet been "published" - it's not really much a copyright issue for Mr. Robertson."

She admits to being only a 'so-so' joke teller," said Watkins about Clinton who had, on several occasions, shared her dream of someday becoming a stand-up comic.

“I always blow the punch line,” Clinton told reporters. “I’d better quit while I’m behind. Brrrrump, tsshhhh. That's my make-believe drummer,” she said with a wink and the nudge of the elbow. "He travels with me... not !“

I’m genuinely sorry and I apologize to all the other performers... and to 7-11," said Clinton. "From now on I’ll leave comedy to the pros.”