SNL accused of stealing Tina Turner skecth

Saturday Night Live has been accused of plagiarism over a Tina Turner parody.

Ian Gary claims the item on this weekend's NBC show, was a rip-off of a skit performed live by his troupe The Groundlings – and called on the writers responsible to be fired.

Both scenes feature Tina Turner lookalikes in red mini-dresses singing Proud Mary, but breaking off between lyrics to address the audience directly.

Gary told the New York Daily News: 'I think at the top, when this stuff comes out and people say, "Hey, this sketch got stolen from me," there needs to be serious repercussions when a writer is caught. It shouldn’t be swept under the rug and acting like nobody cares.'

And he claimed that 'over the years I have seen MANY MANY sketches flat out stolen from my friends by Saturday Night Live'.

This weekend's SNL sketch featured Cecily Strong, Sasheer Zamata and guest host Sarah Silverman; while the similar Groundlings sketch was first performed by Vanessa Ragland and Kimberly Condict

Saturday Night Live has not commented on the accusations; although the script and the pacing of their skit is different. And an unnamed source told the Hollywood Reporter: 'It's a common idea since Tina Turner is such an iconic figure. The similarities represent parallel thinking in the comedy world.'

Here's the Saturday Night Live sketch:

And the Groundlings sketch:

Published: 8 Oct 2014