Livid from New York

A New York comedy club owner is angry that “Saturday Night Live” is shooting with a live audience, while the city’s comedy clubs remain empty because of the pandemic. Dani Zoldan, co-owner of downtown club Stand Up NY, told Page Six that it seems as if there’s one set of rules for the long-running NBC show and another for local clubs. He told us that performance venues in the city are being forced out of business by the lockdown. “From the perspective of a comedy club owner, it’s frustrating, day in and day out, to bear witness to this loss and see that every Saturday night, ‘SNL’ is allowed to produce their show indoors,” which seems to be at odds with “the same laws crushing small businesses all over New York City,” Zoldan said. “They have a live studio audience, and the cast members are not social distancing,” he added. According to the New York Times, “SNL” has gotten around the ban on live audiences by paying audience members

$150 each — technically making them members of the cast. A source close to the show told us, “‘SNL’ participants are in complete compliance with the rules and regulations set forth by the government. Everyone at the show is held to the same rigorous COVID protocols. These protocols include a pre-screening as well as same-day COVID testing of anyone working on or participating in the show. In addition, they must abide by all regulations including temperature checks, social distancing and face coverings.”