Lorne Michaels

Lorne Michaels once risked having bad blood with Taylor Swift, according to a new Vulture profile published Friday (Feb. 14) ahead of Saturday Night Live‘s 50th-anniversary special this weekend.
While looking back at the series creator’s legacy with SNL, the publication uncovered one moment from 2015 when the pop superstar apparently personally called Michaels to ask that he cut a sketch poking fun at her famous girl squad. Showrunners had initially reached out to Swift to ask if she would appear in the skit, according to the magazine; in addition to declining, the 14-time Grammy winner requested that the whole thing be cut.

Michaels’ response? “Taylor, I do not negotiate with terrorists,” he apparently told her over the phone, suavely tossing a piece of popcorn into the air and catching it in his mouth.

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Billboard has reached out to Swift’s rep for comment.

That year, SNL aired two sketches about the “Karma” artist’s friend group, which became a much-talked-about pop-culture staple thanks to Swift’s star-studded “Bad Blood” music video — in which she cast several of her famous pals — and her 1989 World Tour, where she often had her squad members walk out with her onstage. In one, the show imagined a post-apocalyptic reality where Swift and her buddies had taken over the whole world. (“First it was the models, then the athletes, then it was everybody,” cast member Kenan Thompson said dramatically in the spoof. “Police, the fire department, Matt LeBlanc.”)

Another sketch found Amy Poehler and Tina Fey re-creating Swift’s “Bad Blood” music video with their own version of the “squad” — featuring their nannies, gynecologist and friend Amy Schumer instead of the Eras Tour headliner’s troupe of models and actresses.

After the skit in question aired, however, Swift made sure Michaels knew that everything was cool in the end. The Monday after that week’s show, the SNL head honcho received flowers from the singer and a note reading, “I hope there’s no bad blood,” according to Vulture.

This weekend, the famed live show will air its highly anticipated SNL50 anniversary special, featuring performances from Paul McCartney, Sabrina Carpenter, Miley Cyrus and more famous guests. In its half-century on the air, Swift has appeared on the show multiple times. In 2009, she simultaneously made her hosting and musical guest debuts, after which she returned for performances in 2017, 2019 and 2021.