Saturday Night Live
Some of the most-debated moments in television history have aired on Saturday Night Live, and creator Lorne Michaels has made the show such an institution that it has weathered them all. In 1990, for example, the presence of host Andrew “Dice” Clay, known for a misogynistic in-character routine, led cast member Nora Dunn and scheduled musical guest Sinead O’Conner to sit out the show.
But Clay’s presence was nothing compared to the 1992 episode in which O’Connor delivered a stunning performance of Bob Marley’s “War” — before tearing up a picture of the Pope to protest abuse in the Catholic Church. (A decades later, an investigation by The Boston Globe would reveal that sexual abuse in the church had indeed been covered up.)
SNL has also drawn criticism for booking polarizing hosts from Donald Trump to Elon Musk, and provided plenty of envelope-pushing moments with guests from Sydney Sweeney to Katy Perry. We could do a whole gallery devoted to its controversies… So we did.
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