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