SNL producer told Taylor Swift 'I don't negotiate with terrorists' after she tried to stop skit
It may be the first and last time anyone has ever referred to Taylor Swift as a terrorist, but a decade ago the creator of Saturday Night Live did just that.
In an attempt to stop the hit sketch show from playing out a skit about her, a 25-year-old Swift pleaded with producer Lorne Michaels to drop the three-minute-long act.
"Taylor, I do not negotiate with terrorists," a 70-year-old Michaels insisted during the exchange over the phone back in 2015, before tossing a flake of popcorn in the air and catching it in his mouth.
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That alone sounds like a SNL sketch, but it all came about as the veteran writer called her to see whether she'd star in the skit.
Of course, the 'Shake it Off' songstress turned the offer down.
So what was Michaels trying to sign her up for?
Well, it was for a parody of the music video for her hit 'Bad Blood', which Michaels went ahead with, handing the reigns to Amy Poehler and Tina Fey - who were promoting their hit 2015 comedy Sisters at the time.
The sketch consists of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler introducing a reporter, played by Aidy Bryant, to their squad - which includes nannies, a gynecologist and Amy Schumer.
Meanwhile, in Swift's music video, her squad consists of A-list celebrities like Gigi Hadid, Ellie Goulding, Cara Delevingne and Zendaya.
After the show aired, Swift is understood to have sent Michaels, who is now 80, a bouquet of flowers with the words 'I hope there’s no bad blood', written on a note - and the 35-year-old has since appeared on the show three more times, in 2017, 2019 and 2021.
SNL fans loved the sketch, commenting on the video, which was uploaded to YouTube, one user typed: "I'm reading Amy's memoir and I love that Amy and Tina used the same alter ego names that they used in their improv days.
"That's really their gynecologist who Dratch also uses. I was lucky enough to see all three of them talk about it at ASSSSCAT then they did a scene about it," stated another.
While a third wrote: "This looked familiar, then I realized it's the SNL version of 'Bad Blood'."
"Hahahaha I love this so much!! SNL is literally the best, always making new stuff to entertain all," added another.
But some people looked a little too into the script.
"1000x improvement on Bad Blood! I hated it for showing off social connections and pushing toxic ideas of power, influence, & social standing," they penned.
"This is more of a celebration of the everyday we need to get by. A real squad -- the nannies, the random kindness of strangers, gynecologists, all sorts."
While another added: "Those aren't your squad or friends though....those are people you hired. If you needed someone to back you up, wouldn't it be good to call your friends and not say your gynecologist, because every woman has one."
Topics: Taylor Swift, Celebrity, Saturday Night Live
Joe Yates