Lorne Michaels Reflects on Sinéad O’Connor’s Infamous SNL Protest

NEW YORK — Lorne Michaels, the longtime creator and executive producer of “Saturday Night Live,” has revisited one of the most controversial moments in the show’s history: Sinéad O'Connor‘s 1992 protest against the Catholic Church. In a new documentary about the musical history of “SNL,” Michaels expressed a more nuanced view of the incident, which shocked audiences and led to O’Connor’s banishment from the show.

On October 3, 1992, during a performance on “SNL,” O’Connor tore a photo of Pope John Paul II while singing Bob Marley‘s “War.” She ended the act by declaring, “Fight the real enemy,” directly into the camera. The protest, aimed at highlighting sexual abuse within the Catholic Church, was not shared with the show’s producers beforehand, leaving Michaels and the audience stunned.

“There was a part of me that just admired the bravery of what she’d done, and also the absolute sincerity of it,” Michaels said in the documentary, titled “Ladies & Gentlemen.” This marked a shift from his earlier criticism of O’Connor’s actions. In a 1993 interview, Michaels had called the protest “inappropriate” and lamented the difficulty of transitioning to comedy sketches afterward.

O’Connor, who passed away in 2023, never wavered in her defense of the protest. In her memoir, she wrote, “A lot of people say or think that tearing up the pope’s photo derailed my career. That’s not how I feel about it. I feel that having a number-one record derailed my career and my tearing the photo put me back on the right track.” She described herself as a protest singer rather than a pop star, stating, “I just had stuff to get off my chest.”

The documentary, which premiered on January 27, 2025, on NBC, explores the cultural and musical impact of “SNL” over its 50-year history. Michaels’ reflections on O’Connor’s protest highlight the enduring significance of the moment, which continues to spark debate about the intersection of art, activism, and entertainment.