AceShowbiz - It appears that laughter wasn't the only thing that spread during "SNL50: The Anniversary Special," which aired last Sunday. In a recent Instagram post, Steve Martin disclosed that his frequent collaborator and "Only Murders in the Building" co-star, Martin Short, had contracted COVID-19 after attending the star-studded event.

And Martin Short wasn't alone - Maya Rudolph, who also took part at the event, similarly caught COVID. Steve Martin shared a photo of the two sharing a friendly kiss, quipping in the caption, "Maya had Covid. Marty has Covid. I wonder why? The SNL 50th Covid curse is real."

Due to the diagnosis, Steve Martin and Martin Short were forced to reschedule their upcoming sold-out shows in Durham, North Carolina, and Knoxville, Tennessee, to October 17 and 18 respectively. "So sorry for the inconvenience. I think we'll be funnier then, anyway," Steve Martin joked.

During the "Weekend Update" segment of the live special, Colin Jost had predicted the chance of contracting virus, joking about the potential health risks of gathering so many comedy legends in one place.

"Health experts are facing increased pressure this winter in the face of outbreaks of COVID, the flu, RSV and nanovirus, which they're calling a quad-demic," Jost quipped. "So we did the smart thing and packed every beloved entertainer over 60 into one tiny space."

Although not everyone could attend - Dana Carvey was sidelined by the flu, Bill Hader had a scheduling conflict, and Dan Aykroyd had prior commitments - the event still managed to draw an impressive 14.8 million viewers across NBC and Peacock, a figure 202% above the show's regular episodes.

Despite the unfortunate COVID outbreak, the night was filled with nostalgic performances, bringing back cherished skits and characters like Kristen Wiig's Dooneese, Rachel Dratch's Debbie Downer, and Bill Murray's Nick the Lounge Singer.