Lorne Michaels once rebuffed Taylor Swift’s efforts to get a Saturday Night Live sketch lightly spoofing her 1989-era squad days, according to a new story in New York Magazine.
The confrontation between the two cultural heavyweights occurred in 2015 and actually began with SNL asking Swift if she would appear in the sketch. Swift reportedly called Michaels directly to decline the offer and ask him to cut the bit entirely.
Michaels, in response, said, “Taylor, I do not negotiate with terrorists.” The SNL honcho then apparently threw a piece of popcorn in the air and caught it in his mouth. (Seriously.)
The sketch did go ahead as planned, airing on an episode jointly hosted by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. And, in all, it was a relatively tame parody of Swift’s “Bad Blood” video, with Amy Schumer showing up as a surprise guest. The following week, Swift reportedly sent Michaels a bouquet of flowers with the note, “I hope there’s no bad blood.”
Since that sketch aired, Swift has returned to SNL on three occasions as a musical guest in 2017, 2019, and 2021. In that last show, she even appeared in a musical sketch with Pete Davidson, and Please Don’t Destroy, delivering one of her classic, mighty bridges on a song called “Three Sad Virgins.”
SNL is currently gearing up for its massive 50th anniversary show, which is set to air this Sunday, Feb. 16. The episode will feature an array of returning cast members and special guests, including Tom Hanks, Bad Bunny, Kim Kardashian, Martin Short, Robert De Niro, Sabrina Carpenter, Adam Driver, and more. Additionally, there will be a special live “Homecoming Concert” tonight, Feb. 14, featuring performances from Lady Gaga, Dave Grohl, Post Malone, Chris Martin and more.
