Saturday Night Live showrunner Lorne Michaels branded Taylor Swift a ‘terrorist’ in a lighthearted back-and-forth over a sketch about her, it has been revealed.
The exchange came in 2015 when SNL prepared a sketch mocking the singer’s legion of obsessed fans, comparing them to an apocalyptic cult.
Michaels urged Swift to appear in the skit, but she instead insisted that not only would she not appear, but she gave Michaels a piece of her mind, according to Vulture.
Although Michaels ‘heard swift out’, he reportedly picked up popcorn from his desk and shot back at Swift when she was done berating him.
‘Taylor, I don’t negotiate with terrorists’, he reportedly told her.
The sketch went ahead without Swift’s approval, showing stars Aidy Brant and Vanessa Bayer trying to survive a post-apocalyptic world overran with Swift fans.
Despite going against the popstar’s demands, Michaels found flowers in his office after the sketch aired, with a note from Swift reading: ‘I hope there’s no bad blood.’
The Vulture report came as the outlet looked back at Michaels’ decades-long career amid speculation that the 80-year-old could retire.
Rumors that Michaels could retire have followed the showrunner for years.
He was at the helm of the sketch show when it debuted in 1975 and has remained there ever since, except for a hiatus from 1980 to 1985.
Michaels earned a record 102 Emmy nominations in that time, with 21 wins, but has faced scrutiny in recent years amid growing gossip that he could step aside.
In June, he was asked by the New York Times if he had any plans to pass the baton to the next generation.
‘I’m going to do it as long as I feel I can do it,’ he cryptically remarked in his new interview. ‘But I rely on other people and always have.’
He added that he would stay until at least the show’s 50th anniversary episode – slated for next week, February 16, 2025.
”We’re doing the 50th anniversary show in February of ’25, so I will definitely be there for that, and definitely be there until that, and sometime before that we’ll figure out what we’re gonna do,’ he explained to Entertainment Tonight.
Lorne also addressed the rumors that Tina Fey, his protégé and frequent collaborator, could take over for him when he eventually retires.
‘It could easily be Tina Fey, but you know, there are a lot of people who are there now who are also, you know [could be good],’ said Lorne. ‘Tina’s brilliant and great at everything. She’s a very important person in my life.’
Ahead of the 50th anniversary special, NBC said it plans on hosting a full ‘celebratory weekend’ of programming to mark the occasion.
Michaels told the Hollywood Reporter in October that while he was looking forward to the landmark special episode, there were two people he had banned from appearing in his most recent season – Kamala Harris, and Donald Trump.
He said during the election last year: ‘You can’t bring the actual people who are running on because of election laws and the equal time provisions.
‘You can’t have the main candidates without having all the candidates, and there are lots of minor candidates that are only on the ballot in, like, three states and that becomes really complicated.’