It might be time to finally accept that the SNL 50th ‘COVID curse’ is very real

When you pack a room full of comedians and former cast members, magical things are bound to happen. But apparently, so are viral outbreaks.

Saturday Night Live’s 50th-anniversary has been marred by COVID-19 infections and flu cases among attendees, raising questions about the risks of hosting such a large-scale gathering in winter.  The fallout began to emerge when Steve Martin, a frequent SNL host and comedy partner of Martin Short, revealed in an Instagram post that Short had tested positive for COVID following the event. Maya Rudolph, another SNL alum and beloved cast member from 1999 to 2007, also contracted the virus. “Maya had COVID. Marty has COVID. I wonder why? The SNL 50th COVID curse is real,” wrote Martin.

The timing couldn’t have been worse for Martin and Short, who were on their The Dukes of Funnytown! comedy tour. The pair had to postpone sold-out performances originally scheduled for Feb. 22 at the Durham Performing Arts Center and Feb. 23 at the Knoxville Civic Auditorium. These have been rescheduled for Oct. 17 and Oct. 18, respectively. In his Instagram post, Martin apologized for the inconvenience to fans, adding cheekily, “I think we’ll be funnier then, anyway.”

The news has sparked concern about whether other attendees at the event may have also been affected. Indeed, SNL50 seemed to be a superspreader event. Dana Carvey, another SNL legend, was notably absent from the anniversary show altogether. The reason? The flu. On his podcast with David Spade, Fly on the Wall, Carvey explained that he’d been advised not to travel because he was still recovering. Even Whoopi Goldberg, who attended the event, ended up missing multiple episodes of The View due to illness. Her co-host Joy Behar explained Goldberg’s absence, saying, “Whoopi is still out with the flu. It’s going around, be careful. We hope you’re feeling better, Whoopi. Come back soon!”

As Colin Jost wryly noted during the “Weekend Update” segment of the broadcast, packing so many veteran comedians into one room during winter may not have been the smartest decision. “Health experts are facing increased pressure this winter in the face of outbreaks of COVID, the flu, RSV, and norovirus, which they’re calling a quad-demic,” Jost said. “So we did the smart thing and packed every beloved entertainer over 60 into one tiny space.” This was always going to happen. You can’t throw an event — one that involves a lot of close contact, and apparently, a surprising number of makeout sessions (we’re looking at you, Molly Shannon and Martin Short) — and expect everyone to leave unscathed.  If anything, the real surprise is that more names haven’t come forward with their own post-party illnesses.