Steve Martin revealed that Martin Short and Maya Rudolph caught COVID-19 after attending the Saturday Night Live 50th anniversary special. In an Instagram post on Thursday, Martin shared a photo of Short and Rudolph kissing with the caption, “Maya had COVID. Marty has COVID.
I wonder why? The SNL 50th COVID curse is real.”
Due to Short’s illness, Martin announced that their comedy shows this weekend in Durham, N.C., and Knoxville, Tenn., would have to be rescheduled. “So sorry for the inconvenience,” he added.
“I think we’ll be funnier then, anyway.”
The star-studded “SNL50” celebration aired on Sunday night.
SNL50 special leads to COVID outbreak
It brought together many comedy legends, including Adam Sandler, Amy Poehler, Andy Samberg, Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, Chris Rock, Eddie Murphy, Fred Armisen, Jason Sudeikis, Jimmy Fallon, Kate McKinnon, Kristen Wiig, Molly Shannon, Pete Davidson, Seth Meyers, Tina Fey, Tracy Morgan, and Will Ferrell.
The returning cast members put a new spin on several fan-favorite skits and characters. These included Wiig’s Dooneese, Rachel Dratch’s Debbie Downer, and Murray’s Nick the Lounge Singer. However, some notable alumni were absent from the event.
Dana Carvey got a bad case of the flu and couldn’t make it. Bill Hader had a “longstanding scheduling conflict.” Dan Aykroyd didn’t appear due to “prior commitments.”
Despite these absences, the special achieved impressive viewership numbers. It surpassed the average ratings of regular “SNL” episodes by 202% across NBC and Peacock.