Groundlings Say SNL Stole Their Tina Turner Sketch

Quite a few members of the famous LA comedy troupe Groundlings were both shocked and angry when they saw Saturday Night Live this last week because NBS’s late-night comedy show featured a sketch the Groundlings made some time back.

Ian Gary, a teacher at the Groundlings, wrote on his Facebook page that the SNL sketch was a rip-off of a Groundlings Tina Turner sketch performed by Vanessa Ragland and Kimberly Condict.

‘’This is fucked up. This is stupid. And we have the means to make people aware of blatant rip offs of other peoples material. It doesn’t need to be a witch hunt. It doesn’t need to be pointing fingers, assigning blame, or taking sides. But a simple case of what’s right and wrong.’’

Gary is aware that many SNL cast members have come from the troupe, including Jon Lovitz, Chris Kattan, Cheri Oteri, Phil Hartman and Laraine Newman, but points out that stealing other people’s art is unacceptable.

‘’Let people know that STEALING other peoples art and passing it off as your own like you’re the biggest bully in the room is NOT okay, and stop being silent about the blatant theft of other people’s creations.’’

A source close to the show said that the sketch was not a rip-off.

“It’s a common idea since Tina Turner is such an iconic figure. The similarities represent parallel thinking in the comedy world.”