Saturday Night Live has been on the air since 1975, and during that time, a handful of bands have received lifetime bans from performing on the show. These are those naughty musicians.

1. Cypress Hill lit up a joint on-stage

In 1993, Cypress Hill performed on SNL and decided to light up a joint on-stage. Lorne Micheals quickly slapped them with a lifetime ban.

 

2. System of a Down dropped F-bombs

In May 2005, Johnny Knoxville hosted SNL and System of a Down acted as the musical guest. The band decided to perform “B.Y.O.B.” (Bring You Own Bombs) in protest. Fans of the song will know – it has a lot of f-bombs. The band agreed to play the song with a five-second delay so that the network could bleep the words, but at the end of the performance, guitarist Daron Malakian leaned into the mic for one final “f***”. They haven’t been invited back since.

 

3. Sinead O’Connor tore up a picture of the Pope

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0VpfiMcPPA

In 1992, Sinead O’Connor told the live studio audience to “fight the real enemy” as she tore a photo of Pope Paul II. She was immediately banned from returning.

 

4. Rage Against The Machine shredded an American flag

In 1996, Rage Against The Machine were booked to perform on SNL, alongside billionaire and presidential candidate Steve Forbes. Not a great combo. Prior to their performance, the band hung upside down American flags on their amps – but the show’s crew removed them before they went to air. Before leaving the stage, bassist Tim Commerford tore a flag and threw it towards Forbes’ entourage.

Following the performance, frontman Tom Morello told L.A. Times that, “Saturday Night Live is supposedly this cutting-edge show… but they proved that they’re bootlickers to their corporate masters when it comes down to it. They’re cowards.”

 

5. Elvis Costello performed a surprise song

Elvis Costello and the Attractions were scheduled to perform “Less Than Zero”, but changed their minds halfway through the song. Instead, they began playing “Radio Radio”, a song all about the negativity of commercial broadcasting. Apparently, Lorne Micheals was so mad that he gave the band the finger throughout the performance.

 

 

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