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Saturday Night Live Accused of Stealing Tina Turner Sketch

A Los Angeles comedy troupe is accusing Saturday Night Live of plagiarizing one of their sketches, CBS News reports.

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Sadie Gennis

A Los Angeles comedy troupe is accusing Saturday Night Live of plagiarizing one of their sketches, CBS News reports.

Ian Gary, a former member of The Groundlings, noticed similarities to one of the group's skits and a sketch that aired Saturday on SNL that featuredSasheer ZamataCecily Strong and host Sarah Silverman as a trio of Tina Turner impersonators working on a riverboat casino in Nebraska. As the singers work their way through "Proud Mary," they take breaks to clarify the lyrics for the audience by griping about their own personal lives.

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"Actually, when I say I left a good job, I really did leave a good job. Not only did I leave it, I burned that bridge to the ground," Strong quipped.

Gary points out that the sketch is strikingly similar to a skit The Groundlings have been performing since September. "This is Tina Turner impersonators talking about a riverboat casino in Nebraska, singing the 'Proud Mary' where they take breaks in between singing their songs to lament the choices in their lives, so it is beat-for-beat the sketch," Gary said.


Saturday Night Live hasn't commented on the accusations, but a source close to the series told CBS News: "It's a common idea since Tina Turner is such an iconic figure. The similarities represent parallel thinking in the comedy world."

Do you think the sketch was plagiarized or is it just a coincidence?