On October 3, 1992, Sinéad O'Connor became the center of a controversial performance during her appearance on Saturday Night Live. The singer delivered an a cappella rendition of Bob Marley's song "War," but what drew the most attention was her protest against the sexual abuse of minors by the Catholic Church.

 

After her performance, she held up a photo of Pope John Paul II to the camera and sang the word "evil," proceeding to tear it into several pieces while declaring, "Fight the real enemy."

 

She then tossed the fragments of the photograph towards the camera. The studio audience remained in silence, without visible applause or protests, and the show's producer, Lorne Michaels, requested that signs asking for applause not be shown.

 

 

 

O'Connor's performance sparked strong criticism from more conservative sectors in the following years. However, nine years after the live incident, Pope John Paul II acknowledged the abuses of minors within the Church. The episode had such an impact that the network broadcasting Saturday Night Live received over 4000 phone calls complaining about the singer's act.

 

Despite the controversy, the program did not cut O'Connor's performance during the West Coast broadcast. However, starting in 2016, replays of the episode show a rehearsal footage where the incident does not occur. In 2022, when asked if she would change anything about her SNL performance, O'Connor responded emphatically, "Of course not!"