--- description: From Sinead O'Connor's shocking moment to Ashlee Simpson's lip-syncing debacle title: The 5 Most Controversial Musical Guests in 'Saturday Night Live' History image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The 5 Most Controversial Musical Guests in _Saturday Night Live_ History by [Samantha Grossman](/author/samantha-grossman/) ## Samantha Grossman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 12, 2015 7:30 PM CUT by [Samantha Grossman](/author/samantha-grossman/) ## Samantha Grossman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 12, 2015 7:30 PM CUT Back in 1975, NBC took a chance on a guy named Lorne Michaels who had an idea for a live sketch show. Four decades later, _Saturday Night Live_ is celebrating 40 years on the air, and this Sunday, Feb. 15, NBC will air a special three-hour live broadcast featuring past and present _SNL_ stars. ### See the Best Impressions on Saturday Night Live  Dan Aykroyd as Julia Child in 1978. Edie Baskin—Warner Bros./Archive Photos/Getty Images  Dan Aykroyd as President Richard Nixon in 1978. Fred Hermansky—NBC/Getty Images  Dana Carvey as Ross Perot in 1993. Raymond Bonar—NBC/Getty Images  Norm MacDonald as David Letterman in 1997. Mary Ellen Matthews—NBC/Getty Images  From left: Molly Shannon as Monica Lewinsky and John Goodman as Linda Tripp in 1998. Mary Ellen Matthews—NBC/Getty Images  From left: Jimmy Fallon as Michael Stipe and Ana Gasteyer as Celine Dion in 1998. Mary Ellen Matthews—NBC/Getty Images  Darrell Hammond as Sean Connery in 2000. Dana Edelson—NBC/Getty Images  Will Ferrell as Alex Trebek in 2002. Mary Ellen Matthews—NBC/Getty Images  Maya Rudolph as Donatella Versace Mary Ellen Matthews—NBC/Getty Images  Alec Baldwin as Tony Bennett in 2005. Dana Edelson—NBC/Getty Images  From left: Darrell Hammond as Bill Clinton and Will Ferrell as Janet Reno in 2007. NBC/Getty Images  Will Farrell as President George W. Bush in 2008. Dana Edelson—NBC/Getty Images  From left: Tina Fey as Governor Sarah Palin and Amy Poehler as Senator Hillary Clinton in 2008. Dana Edelson—NBC/Getty Images  Kristen Wiig as Liza Minnelli in 2012. Dana Edelson—NBC/Getty Images  Kenan Thompson as Rev. Al Sharpton on Oct. 25, 2014. Dana Edelson—NBC/Getty Images  Kevin Hart as James Brown on Jan. 17, 2015. Dana Edelson—NBC/Getty Images  Kate McKinnon as Justin Bieber on Jan. 17, 2015. Dana Edelson—NBC/Getty Images Looking back on the show’s legacy certainly involves recalling the best (and worst) sketches and the actors who performed them — but it also means reflecting on another key element of _SNL_: the live music. Over the years, some performers have been remembered simply for being great, but others have gained notoriety for more complicated reasons. Here, a look back at five of the most notorious musical guests in _SNL_ history. ### Nirvana, 1992 In its first appearance on _SNL_, Nirvana performed songs “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and “Territorial Pissings.” The performances themselves weren’t particularly notorious — that part came later, during the end credits, when the cast gathered on stage to wave goodbye during their usual sendoff. As the show’s closing music played, the band’s members — Krist Novoselic, Kurt Cobain and Dave Grohl — grabbed each other for a brief make-out session. Cobain [purportedly said](http://www.mtv.co.uk/kurt-cobain/news/10-iconic-kurt-cobain-moments "undefined") this was an attempt to “piss off the rednecks and homophobes.” NBC made sure to edit out the kiss for all future re-runs. ### Lana Del Rey, 2012 There was nothing particularly outrageous about the performance itself, but what makes it so memorable is the intense vitriol Del Rey received, both from professional critics and casual watchers. Generally, people criticized her detached, bizarre stage presence and claimed her singing was downright terrible. Actress Juliette Lewis, [in a since deleted tweet, said](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/lana-del-rey-snl-juliette-lewis-slammed-twitter-281938 "undefined"), “Wow watching this ‘singer’ on SNL is like watching a 12 yearold \[sic\] in their bedroom when theyre pretending to sing and perform #signofourtimes.” In [an interview](http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/lana-del-rey-talks-snl-performance-20120130 "undefined") with _Rolling Stone_ shortly after the performance, Del Rey admitted she was nervous and that she’s “not a natural performer or exhibitionist.” Ultimately, though, she defended herself. “I actually felt good about it,” Del Rey said_._ “I thought I looked beautiful and sang fine.” ### Fear, 1981 John Belushi was a huge fan of Fear, so at his urging, the punk band [got to perform ](http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/208920/ian-mackaye-recounts-the-time-he-and-his-friends-terrorized-snl/ "undefined")on _SNL_‘s Halloween episode in 1981\. Lorne Michaels [reportedly](http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/208920/ian-mackaye-recounts-the-time-he-and-his-friends-terrorized-snl/ "undefined") wanted some “authentic punks” to join the band onstage to dance. Said dancing turned into full-out rioting, with fans thrashing around, screaming profanities and destroying equipment. NBC security guards failed to get things under the control and New York City police officers eventually arrived to disperse the mob. The performance reportedly landed Fear a lifetime ban from _SNL._ _Read next:_ [_The Definitive Saturday Night Live Sketch Rankings_](http://time.com/3701415/saturday-night-live-rankings/ "undefined") ### Ashlee Simpson, 2004 During her visit to _SNL_ in October 2004, Ashlee Simpson pulled off a normal, unmemorable performance of her hit song, “Pieces Of Me.” But when she returned to the stage to sing the next tune, “Autobiography,” everything fell apart. As she started dancing, ready to begin the song, the vocals for “Piece Of Me” began playing again while her mic was resting at her side. Clearly flustered, Simpson launched into some kind of Irish jig. She later blamed [a gastric disorder](http://www.mtv.com/news/1492993/ashlee-blames-gastric-distress-for-snl-lip-synch-snafu/ "undefined") for her choice to lip-sync, but the nation was still too busy cringing to pay any attention. ### Sinead O’Connor, 1992 The Irish songstress is probably the first person to come to most people’s minds when you bring up the topic of controversial moments on _SNL._ Two decades ago, she famously tore up a photo of Pope John Paul II during a haunting cover of Bob Marley’s “War.” She looked straight into the camera and, in an even voice, said “Fight the real enemy.” She then tossed the torn scraps to the ground. A few weeks later, TIME [asked O’Connor why she did it](http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,976937,00.html "undefined"). She said, “It’s not the man, obviously — it’s the office and the symbol of the organization that he represents. I consider them to be responsible for the destruction of entire races of people and the subsequent existence of domestic and child abuse in every country they went into.” _Read next:_ [_40 Years of Saturday Night Live in 1 Chart_](http://time.com/3699342/saturday-night-live-history-chart/?xid=time%5Freadnext "undefined") [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/?sl%5Fautoplay=true&xid=spl-fullbrief-article "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3686375/snl-40th-anniversary-controversial-musical-guests/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3686375/snl-40th-anniversary-controversial-musical-guests/"},"headline":"The 5 Most Controversial Musical Guests in Saturday Night Live History","datePublished":"2015-02-12T19:30:46.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:48:07.223Z","description":"From Sinead O'Connor's shocking moment to Ashlee Simpson's lip-syncing debacle","url":"https://time.com/3686375/snl-40th-anniversary-controversial-musical-guests/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Television"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Samantha Grossman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/samantha-grossman/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3686375/snl-40th-anniversary-controversial-musical-guests/","name":"The 5 Most Controversial Musical Guests in Saturday Night Live History"}}]}] ```