Did ‘SNL’ Borrow Louis C.K.’s Clown Sketch From Tig Notaro?
42 seasons of comedy are bound to see SNL traversing some familiar ground, but a recent sketch from this past weekend’s Louis C.K. return may have stepped over the line. Tig Notaro fans are accusing a pre-recorded clown sketch of aping one of the comedian’s short films, subbing in C.K. for her.
One of the better-received bits from this past weekend’s SNL saw C.K. hiring a clown (Bobby Moynihan) for his birthday, only for the entertainer to discover that the birthday boy was a 53-year-old man, and the only one in attendance of his “party.” As UPROXX points out, Tig Notaro fans were quick to note that the sketch superficially resembled Notaro’s 13-minute short “Clown Service,” even if the two share different endings.
Granted, it’s unlikely C.K. would have participated in the sketch, had he known or thought any portion might borrow from real-life collaborator Notaro. That said, Notaro seemingly alluded to the matter on Facebook:
C.K. didn’t actually write the sketch, which was penned by BriTANick writers Nick Kocher and Brian McElhaney, along with Will Stephen.
Neither C.K. nor Notaro have directly addressed the matter (C.K. also famously dealt with plagiarism from comedian Dane Cook), but watch both sketches above, and judge for yourself.
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