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Singer Sinead O'Connor rips up a picture of Pope John Paul II during “SNL” to protest then-unknown cases of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. O'Connor changed lyrics to her song "War" from "fight racial injustice" to "fight child abuse."

Band 'Fear' performed as the show's musical guest during an Oct. 1981 episode. The band started an on-stage riot, causing the show's producers to cut the set in fear of damaged equipment and show sets.

Kristin Stewart accidentally dropped the f-word during her stage monologue, then immediately realized her mistake. The actress joked she would never be invited to host again; she was invited back in 2019.

Martin Lawrence began talking frankly about female hygiene and sexual hygiene during his 1994 monologue, causing the show's producers to later replace parts of his monologue with on-screen text explaining what had happened.

2015

Then-Republican presidential candidate and billionaire Donald Trump hosting “SNL” resulted in hundreds of demonstrators protesting outside Rockefeller Plaza, where the show is filmed in New York City.

Ashlee Simpson was the musical guest on the October "SNL" episode. During her set, she began to mouth the words to one of her songs while the band played another, revealing that Simpson was lip-synching during the show.

At the end of the episode, musical guest Kanye West went on an unexpected pro-Trump monologue. The rapper, wearing a 'Make America Great Again' hat, was ultimately cut off by producers.

Musical guest Elvis Costello stopped his show-approved song and said to the audience, "I’m sorry, ladies and gentlemen, but there’s no reason to do this song here." He chose to play a different song instead, and was not invited back for over a decade.

2018

A week after Pete Davidson received criticism for his jokes about Rep. Dan Crenshaw, the military veteran got the chance to crack jokes at Davidson's expense. But he ended with a serious message of unity.

Andrew Dice Clay's hosting of a May "SNL" episode caused some controversy. Cast member Nora Dunn announced her boycott of the show following Clay being chosen to host, due to a perceived misogynistic act by Clay.