Tig Notaro 'extremely disappointed' over SNL sketch

Comedian addresses plagiarism claims

Tig Notaro has broken her silence over claims that Saturday Night Live plagiarised her short film.

She said that she was 'extremely disappointed' that the flagship comedy show aired a sketch which had similarities to Clown Service, which she screens as part of her stand-up tour.

And the row could jeopardise her relationship with Louis CK, who starred in the TV skit. She acknowledged that they had not communicated for almost 18 months.

The contentious scene showed CK ordering a clown to come and perform just for him, a sad middle-aged man, at his own birthday party. In Clown Service, Notaro, too, orders a clown to perform just for her to ease her depression.

In a statement to Entertainment Tonight, Notaro said: 'I have recently learned that a writer/director who was fully aware of Clown Service when I was making it, actually worked on Louis CK's clown sketch that is in question.'

And she further confirmed she did not give SNL permission to use anything from Clown Service.

Notaro

Notaro said she hesitated to address the issue, but spoke out because 'it has been impossible for me to ignore the cacophony of voices [concerning] the potential plagiarising of my film Clown Service… While I don't know how all this actually happened, I did find it extremely disappointing.'

CK had previously worked closely with Notaro, He released her groundbreaking stand-up set when she revealed she had breast cancer, and he went on to be an executive producer on her acclaimed Amazon Prime series One Mississippi.

Only a snippet of the SNL sketch is available online in the UK, but Notaro released her film on the internet the day after the sketch aired.