Lorne Michaels Says Sinead O'Connor Would Have Been Invited on SNL's 50th Anniversary Special

Lorne Michaels said he intended to bring Sinéad O'Connor back to perform on the SNL50 live special had she been alive. Miley Cyrus and Brittany Howard performed "Nothing Compares 2 U" on that special. O'Connor died in July 2023. O'Connor was banned from SNL after her October 3, 1992 performance of Bob Marley's "War," during which she tore up a photo of Pope John Paul II and urged audiences to "fight the real enemy." The stunt provoked immediate controversy, sustained media backlash, and O'Connor never returned to the program. SNL later mounted mocking responses, including a Madonna stunt and Joe Pesci remarks.

What is among Saturday Night Live's most controversial moments could have had a happy ending. In an all new interview with Matthew Belloni of Puck News, SNL creator Lorne Michaels said he had planned to bring back Sinéad O'Connor for a performance during the SNL50 live special. "If [O'Connor] were still alive, I would have asked her to sing that song," Michaels said in reference to the performance of "Nothing Compares 2 U" by Miley Cyrus and Brittany Howard. O'Connor, of course, passed away in July 2023.

For context, O'Connor's banishment from SNL stems from her October 3, 1992 appearance. During a rousing performance of the Bob Marley gem "War," O'Connor tore up a picture of Pope John Paul II, telling audiences worldwide to "fight the real enemy." The incident caused immediate controversy, and the singer never made another appearance on the iconic show. The incident was all over the news back then, and it caused the already controversial O'Connor to be labeled a true media pariah. Two weeks after the performance, O'Connor was nearly booed off the stage at the Bob Dylan tribute show at Madison Square Garden.

To makes matters worse, SNL's coverage assumed a mocking tone almost in the aftermath of the episode. Later in the same season, Madonna tore up a photo of Joey Buttafucco (complete with the singer declaring that infamous philanderer as "the real enemy.") The most egregious of these protests, however, was Joe Pesci's appearance on SNL the week following O'Connor's, during which the Catholic actor said he would've like to grab O'Connor "by the eyebrows" and "[give] her such a smack."

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