Gad Elmaleh Admits to Stealing Classic ‘More Cowbell’ Sketch for French ‘SNL’

French actor and comedian Gad Elmaleh stopped by Conan on Wednesday and admitted to stealing an American treasure. Elmaleh, who is well-known in Europe but virtually unknown in the U.S., was the first-ever host of the French version of Saturday Night Live, called Le Saturday Night Live. During that show, actors performed their own version of the classic SNL sketch starring Will Ferrell and Christopher Walken, “More Cowbell.”

“We don’t want to do exactly like you guys do. We want a little different. The French touch,” Elmaleh said.

But if you watch the French version of the sketch, it’s almost exactly the same. It’s got the same song, the same annoyed bandmates, and the same overzealous cowbell player, and the same producer whose only prescription is more cowbell. The only difference in the French version is that Jimmy Fallon isn’t breaking character in the background. It didn’t take long for Elmaleh to admit that they stole it.

But the French weren’t the only ones to steal the sketch. Spanish Saturday Night Live did the same thing with all the same characters but one big difference: They didn’t use Blue Oyster Cult’s “(Don’t Fear) the Reaper.” The one major difference between American SNL and its European counterparts is that in Europe, the shows air on Thursdays in primetime.

Watch Nick Offerman recite an ode to firewood on The Tonight Show:

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