Was a recent SNL skit featuring host Sarah Silverman a rip-off from a well respected comedy troupe? INSIDE EDITION has the story.
Was there something sketchy about a comedy skit performed on Saturday Night Live?
Guest host Sarah Silverman along with SNL cast members Sasheer Zamata and Cecily Strong were all imitating Tina Turner singing “Proud Mary.”
In video from a performance over the summer by an improvisational group known as The Groundlings, two comedians were apparently doing pretty much the same thing, even in similar outfits and similar wigs at The Groundlings Theatre in Los Angeles. Even the concept was the same with the comedians interrupting “Proud Mary” with stories about their lives.
Ian Gary, who teaches at The Groundlings Theatre, is calling it an outright rip-off. “Over the years, I have seen many, many sketches flat out stolen from my friends by Saturday Night Live," he declared on his Facebook page. “Nearly verbatim. Word for word... Well, enough of that.”
Kimberly Condict, one of two Tina Turner impersonators from The Groundlings, pointedly noted, "If you liked the sketch SNL did... You'll love this sketch," pointing out The Groundlings sketch.
Mary Murphy is Senior Lecturer at USC Annenberg School. She told INSIDE EDITION, "This makes SNL look like maybe they have run out of ideas themselves and started taking ideas from other people without giving them credit."
A source close to SNL told INSIDE EDITION that the skit was not ripped off, adding, “The similarities represent parallel thinking in the comedy world."
