After her controversial performance in 1992 on Saturday Night Live, Sinéad O’Connor was banned from the show. Now, two years after her death, Lorne Michaels, creator of SNL, said he would have invited her to the 50th anniversary special if she were still alive.
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Shuhada’ Sadaqat, known by her stage name Sinéad O’Connor, was an Irish singer and activist who became famous for her version of “Nothing Compares 2 U” by musician Prince.
O’Connor stirred controversy after going on stage at SNL and tearing up a photo of Pope John Paul II. After that incident, she was never invited back to the show.
Sinéad O’Connor passed away in 2023 from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) at the age of 57.
“If [O’Connor] were still alive, I would have asked her to sing that song,” Lorne Michaels confirmed to Puck. “But that was represented by Miley, who sang it with such strength,” he continued.
Michaels never officially declared that Sinéad O’Connor had been banned from the show, but he expressed his dissatisfaction with the situation in a 1993 edition of Spin magazine.
“I thought it was kind of the wrong place for it, I thought her behavior was inappropriate. […] We were kind of shocked, the same way you’d be if a guest urinated on a floral arrangement in the dining room,” he commented.
In the documentary “Ladies & Gentlemen… 50 Years of SNL Music,” released in 2025, he said he came to see the situation differently.
“There was a part of me that just admired the courage of what she had done, and also the absolute sincerity of it,” Michaels said.
Photos: Bitchute Jabreakit_Jubawdit. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
