‘SNL’ Paid Audience Members Over $100 To Attend the Show To Follow NY Guidelines

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.”