Did "SNL" steal this weekend’s controversial Muhammad sketch?

Canadian comedy show "This Hour Has 22 Minutes" did a very similar sketch in January

Published May 11, 2015 5:45PM (EDT)

      (NBC/"Saturday Night Live")
(NBC/"Saturday Night Live")

This weekend, “SNL” ran a sketch called “Picture Perfect" in which contestants of a fictional gameshow got stumped when asked to draw a picture of the prophet Muhammad.

It’s a topical idea, both in light of the shooting at last week’s Muhammad drawing contest in Garland, Texas and the Charlie Hebdo shootings earlier this year (not to mention the recent controversy over the PEN American Center award honoring the Charlie Hebdo staff). Yet it also isn’t an original idea; As a number of critics have pointed out, the sketch is remarkably similar to a sketch from Canadian comedy show “This Hour Has 22 Minutes” that ran in January. Not only is the premise almost identical, even the small details are the same: From the one-million dollar prize figure to the fact the contestant's teammate correctly guesses the answer after they fail to draw anything.

This isn’t the first time “SNL” has received allegations of plagiarism — you can see five other instances here — but in the words of comedian Mark Critch, who played the contestant on "This Hour Has 22 Minutes": “This is the closest I’d ever seen.”

And here’s Shaun Majumder, another "This Hour" cast member:

[embedtweet id="597631208651010048"]

Take a look below and judge for yourself:

(h/t Pajiba)


By Anna Silman

MORE FROM Anna Silman


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