YouTuber Joel Haver addresses fan claims SNL stole his video

YouTube and comedian Joel Haver has responded to claims that Saturday Night Live stole ideas from his content, as avid fans brought a recent skit to his attention.

If you’re a creative in the world of stand-up comedy and content creation, then working with Saturday Night Live is likely a dream goal. Canadian filmmaker Joel Haver is known for crafting unique animations, short films, and popular YouTube videos such as ‘Playing an RPG for the first time’.

One of Haver’s fan-favorite uploads known as ‘Toilet Paper Bears’, has jumped back into the zeitgeist again, after fans noted how a recent SNL skit bore more than just a slight similarity.

Haver has responded to these claims, sharing his insight on previous experiences on his YouTube channel.

Joel Haver explains he isn’t “bothered” by SNL allegedly using his ideas

On October 2, Saturday Night Live debuted a skit titled ‘Charmin Bears’, which featured Top Gun: Maverick’s Miles Teller as part of him hosting the Season 48 premiere. Within hours of the skit debuting, fans of Joel Haver brought it to his attention.

“When it comes to these stealing accusations I always air on the side of coincidence. I think parallel thinking does happen more often that not,” Haver explained.

Haver noted how the two skits shared the same premise: “It was pretty alarming, I was like wow…usually when these things come up I’m like able to see its the same concept but they took it somewhere different…but this one was a little weird, I was like wow this one is very similar.”

While fans may have expected a harsher response from Haver, the content creator reacted to SNL’s actions in a more measured manner. “We have so much content, so much stuff out there, its inevitable that you’re gonna overlap,” continued Haver.

“So when it comes to the Charmin Bears thing…I don’t think it was malicious, it was either a subconscious borrowing from somebody on the writer’s staff who saw my video. Or it was a coincidence.”

Haver noted how he has enjoyed plenty of success from his original upload, which has garnered over 1 million views: “If I was still a small creator, which I was for a long time, I could see it rubbing me the wrong way and I’d be a little more likely to believe that they did steal it. I have to recognize that I’m in a position to not be bothered by it.”

“I’m lucky in the event that SNL did steal from me, I’m lucky to be in a position to have my stuff seen by enough people that that would even happen,” added Haver.