Lorne Michaels would've invited Sinead O'Connor to perform on Saturday Night Live's 50th anniversary special had she still been alive
The Nothing Compares 2 U singer, who passed away aged 56 in 2023, infamously ripped up a photograph of Pope John Paul II during her performance on the show in 1992 but the SNL creator would've asked her back for the anniversary celebration earlier this year - which featured Miley Cyrus and Brittany Howard performing a rendition of O'Connor's chart-topping cover of Prince's song
26 August 2025
Lorne told Puck: "If (O'Connor) was still alive, I would have asked her to sing that song. But it was represented by Miley singing it with so much power."
Sinead never appeared on Saturday Night Live again following the controversial stunt and Michaels had previously described her actions as "inappropriate".
The 80-year-old star told Spin magazine in 1993: "I thought it was sort of the wrong place for it, I thought her behaviour was inappropriate.
"Because it was difficult to do two comedy sketches after it, and also it was dishonest because she didn't tell us she was going to do it.
"We were sort of shocked, the way you would be shocked at a houseguest p****** on a flower arrangement in the dining room."
However, he appeared to have had a change of heart on the incident when interviewed in the documentary Ladies and Gentleman... 50 Years of SNL Music earlier this year.
He said: "There was a part of me that just admired the bravery of what she'd done, and also the absolute sincerity of it."
It was rumoured that O'Connor was banned from Saturday Night Live after ripping up the photo of the late Pope but Michaels revealed that this wasn't the case.
He said in the documentary: "I'll read it sometimes in the [New York] Post, 'So and so's banned for life'.
"We've never banned anyone. We're way too crass and opportunistic. If something's hot, we're going to go for it and have it on."
Michaels had previously suggested that the 50th anniversary would be a good time to step away from Saturday Night Live but has since vowed to stay put on the comedy show.
He told The Hollywood Reporter: "People have decided somehow that [SNL is] important. And so as long as it's important and I can be useful, I'll stay."
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