“I do not negotiate with terrorists” — When SNL’s creator refused to take down a Taylor Swift sketch

Saturday Night Live just reached a major milestone over the weekend, airing a special to commemorate the show's 50th anniversary. The event was attended by numerous A-listers, former hosts and friends of the show, and was a spectacle to behold. Gearing up for the semi-centennial showcase, SNL head Lorne Michaels sat down for an interview with Vulture, as reported by Yahoo, where he spoke about several of the show's most iconic moments and gaffes during his tenure at the helm.

While several memorable instances came to light, a noteworthy incident involved music icon Taylor Swift. The pop diva reportedly took issue with a particular sketch and wanted it removed from the show’s live telecast. Michaels’ response on the alleged phone call was priceless.

“Taylor, I do not negotiate with terrorists.”

SNL vs Taylor Swift

As per the interview, Taylor was approached in 2015 to spoof her Bad Blood music video in a skit that poked fun at her and her famous friends (Selene Gomez and Gigi Hadid). The comedy vignette insinuated that the group were part of an apocalyptic cult. According to the interview:

Michaels was in his office when Swift called him directly to say that not only would she not appear in the video but she wanted Michaels to kill the sketch entirely. LLorne cooly replied in perfect harmony with his show’s aura, "Taylor, I do not negotiate with terrorists," before hanging up the phone.

The sketch ended up making it to air, and featured SNL legends Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. The Yahoo report said that Taylor reached out to Michaels after the episode dropped, and sent him flowers accompanied by a tongue-in-cheek note that read:

“I hope there’s no bad blood.”

Smooth Sailing

Ultimately, this reported interaction did not sour the relationship between Lorne and Swift. The singer has made five appearances on Saturday Night Live since the reported incident, including a special appearance in 2021 in which she delivered the TV premiere of All Too Well (Taylor’s Version), performing the entire extended version of the 10 minute track. She also lent her vocal skills to one of the sketches, a parody song called Three Sad Virgins.

More recently, Taylor made a surprise appearance in October 2023 in support of Karma collaborator Ice Spice. It was the latter’s Saturday Night Live debut, and Swift introduced her ahead of Pretty Girl, her second performance of the night.