Saturday Night Live is no stranger to controversy. Whether it be a poorly thought-out sketch, a controversial guest star, or just plain technical difficulties during a show, there are dozens of notable incidents over the show’s near-fifty-year run. Now, however, the show is being accused of stealing the plot of a sketch that aired on Saturday, October 1.
The annals of SNL are riddled with famed comedians and movie stars. Saturday Night Live made stars of several of its alumni, including Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Will Farrell, Dan Aykroyd, and Bill Murray. Listing them all would require a page of its own. So would listing all of its controversies, which range from on-air cursing, actors conducting sketches in blackface, and sketches making light of domestic abuse. It has been accused of stealing sketches more than once.
The most recent accusation, as reported by Pop Culture, concerns a sketch about a Charmin Toilet Paper Bear. The sketch was featured on the season 48 premiere and featured the mascots of Charmin Brand Toilet Paper, who are dismayed to learn their son wants to go into musical theater and dance with the toilet paper brand. While that seems innocuous enough, it turns out that filmmaker Joel Haver premiered a very similar, animated sketch on his YouTube channel back in July.
The plot of the short, titled “Toilet Paper Bears,” is allegedly very similar in plot, with the bears' son wanting to go into show biz with the toilet paper, and the father being dismayed. The Saturday Night Live sketch does go on a bit longer than the Haver sketch, but fans were quick to levy accusations of plagiarism at the show. Haver has since released a video addressing what has occurred. The video is titled "SNL stole my video" and features Haver commenting on his thoughts on the situation.
Various comedians and entertainers have called out Saturday Night Live for allegedly plagiarizing their work in the past. Comedian Tig Notaro's fans noted that a 2017 sketch was similar to her 2015 short film, Clown Service. Twitch streamer Willneff claims that a sketch he wrote to apply to the show was stolen from him “verbatim.” Also, stand-up comedians Nick Rugga and Ryan Hoffman claimed two sketches were stolen from them and sent a letter to NBC through their lawyers.
Accusations of plagiarism are not taken lightly in the comedy world. Allegations can be ruinous; as a creative industry, comedy is highly personalized and unique to the artist. For a show such as Saturday Night Live, usually considered a titan of the industry and with numerous acclaimed SNL cast members, to be accused of plagiarism is disappointing.
Saturday Night Live airs Saturdays on NBC at 11:30 PM EST.
Source: Pop Culture, Joel Haver/YouTube