Rob Schneider recalls ‘eery’ aftermath of Sinead O’Connor’s pope stunt on SNL

Saturday Evening Stay alum Rob Schneider has recalled the quick impression Sinead O’Connor’s notorious political stunt had on the present’s studio viewers.

In 1992, the late Irish singer, shocked America and the remainder of the world after she tore up a photograph of Pope John Paul II stay on the favored comedy sketch present. “Combat the true enemy,” she mentioned whereas staring immediately into the digicam.

The transfer, which was a protest in opposition to the sexual abuse of kids within the Catholic Church, led to an enormous and prolonged backlash – one thing O’Connor herself mirrored on in her 2021 memoir, Rememberings.

Thirty years later, on the day of O’Connor’s dying (26 July) at age 56, comic Schneider, 59, paid tribute to the “mild and beautiful” artist, recounting one of her stand-out moments.

“Although I didn’t see it occur. It was an episode the place I used to be very busy (in loads of sketches) and there are strikes that performers have the place they know they will get laughs,” he wrote on X, previously Twitter.

“Anyway, I used to be backstage in fast change (getting dressed for the subsequent sketch) and I didn’t know something had occurred.”

Schneider continued: “I got here out and throughout the subsequent sketch, I simply felt the viewers had modified. My normal bodily strikes that obtained laughs fell silent. No sketches obtained laughs after that. And the remainder of the night time was eerily quiet.”

The Scorching Chick star was an SNL author and solid member from 1988 to 1994.

He mentioned that it wasn’t till “after the present that I had realized that Sinead had tore up an image of the pope”. “I didn’t realise on the time that it will be a giant controversy,” he added.

Recounting spending time with O’Connor on the present’s afterparty, Schneider mentioned: “She was mild and beautiful and didn’t appear to have a fear about something. We laughed about just a few issues attempting to grasp one another’s accents and had a drink and he or she couldn’t have been lovelier.

“All these years later you realise that fame and all that it comes with could be very harmful to mild souls. It’s my honest hope that the peace that eluded Sinead in life she will be able to have now, resting in God’s embrace.”

O’Connor was pelted with eggs, booed throughout stay reveals and promptly banned for all times by broadcaster NBC for her actions.

On the time, Goodfellas actor Joe Pesci claimed he would’ve “slapped” the singer for her behaviour. He’s since been condemned for his “vile” and “hideous” feedback.