With coronavirus in the picture, a lot of people, as well as television shows have had to make unexpected changes.
“Saturday Night Live” (SNL) kicked off its premiere on Saturday night where actor Alec Baldwin played President Donald Trump and actor Jim Carrey portrayed Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. In the cold open, the two played out the first presidential debate which took place on Sept. 29, where Trump and Biden repeatedly clashed.
Now, it is revealed that because of New York’s new coronavirus guidelines, the show had to pay its live audience members like employees in order for their attendance to be allowed.
The New York Times reports that NBC gave out free tickets to “SNL,” but members of the audience were then paid $150 for attending.
When the show was over, one attendee said he and his seven friends received a check of $150 from Universal Television, the Times reports. It is unclear how many people were paid guests in total.
Sean Ludwig, a freelance writer, told the Times, “We had no idea we would be paid before we were handed checks. We were all very pleasantly surprised.”
New York’s health department confirmed earlier this week that “SNL” followed the guidelines laid out for industries and businesses.
See the cold open below:
The guidelines for media production posted in June reads, “Responsible Parties must prohibit live audiences unless they consist only of paid employees, cast, and crew. Employees, cast and crew may make up a live audience of no more than 100 individuals, or 25% the audience capacity, whichever is lower. Live audiences must maintain social distance of at least six feet in all directions.”
New York City Health Department spokesman Jonah Bruno told The Hill, “SNL has confirmed that they followed the reopening guidance, including selecting audience members through a third-party screening and casting process and compensating them for their time as paid audience members.”
Those who attended the show had to take a rapid coronavirus test and sign forms noting that they are symptom-free. Applicants for the show were asked to request seven or nine tickets in total for those who are part of their “social bubble,” the Times notes.
Actor Baldwin spoke about Saturday night’s premiere during an Instagram video posted over the weekend where he defended mocking President Donald Trump over COVID-19 during the show, as IJR reported.