Sinead O’Connor
After a stunning a capella performance of Bob Marley’s “War” on the October 3, 1992 episode, Irish singer Sinead O’Connor declared “fight the real enemy!” and tore up a picture of Pope John Paul II in a protest of abuse in the Catholic Church.
David Spade, who was in the SNL cast at the time, recalled in his memoir Almost Interesting: “It’s the first time in SNL musical history that the guest did not get applause after their song. No one knew what the f— was going on. Lorne turned back to me after sipping his glass of Amstel Light, shrugged his shoulders, and said “Irish.” (Spade also recalled that he picked up a piece of the photo as a souvenir, but that the show later insisted he return it.)
O’Connor’s action was widely criticized — including by Joe Pesci, who hosted the next week and declared, “if it was my show, I would have gave her such a smack.”
A decades later, an investigation by The Boston Globe would reveal that sexual abuse in the church had indeed been covered up. When O’Connor died earlier this year, some viewed her protest in a different light than it was viewed in 1992.
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