Did ‘SNL’ Plagiarize Tig Notaro For Clown Skit? Comedian Responds To Similarities

During the April 8 episode of “Saturday Night Live,” host Louis C.K. and cast member Bobby Moynihan teamed up for a funny sketch involving a sad adult who called a clown over to his house to cheer him up. The skit was well-received, but it also raised eyebrows for its similarities to comedian Tig Notaro’s short film, “Clown Service.”

In Notaro’s film, a sad adult calls a clown over to her house to cheer her up. While the comedian is currently on a nationwide tour, she has now come out and responded to the claims. “It has been impossible for me to ignore the cacophony of voices reaching out personally and publicly about the potential plagiarizing of my film ‘Clown Service,’” she wrote in a statement.

The statement continued, “While I don’t know how all this actually happened, I did find it extremely disappointing.” Notaro, who is friends with C.K., also revealed that she learned that a writer-director for the ‘SNL’ sketch was “fully aware of ‘Clown Service’” when she was making it. Neither “SNL” or Louis C.K. have responded to the claims.

“SNL” returns on April 15 with its first all-live episode, which will be aired live across the nation. The episode will be hosted by Jimmy Fallon, who will be joined by musical guest Harry Styles.

“‘SNL’ — enjoying its most popular season in two decades — is part of the national conversation, and we thought it would be a great idea to broadcast to the west and mountain time zones live at the same time it’s being seen in the east and central time zones,” said NBC Entertainment Chairman, Robert Greenblatt.

“Saturday Night Live” will air April 15 at 11:30 p.m. EDT, 10:30 p.m. CDT, 9:30 p.m. MDT and 8:30 p.m. PDT on NBC.