Thirty years ago today, Rage Against the Machine pulled off one of the most chaotic appearances in Saturday Night Live history… and they've never been invited back.
The April 13, 1996 booking was already eyebrow-raising from the start. Steve Forbes, the billionaire Republican presidential candidate, was hosting, with RATM as the musical guest.
Things started going sideways before the band even played a note. RATM hung American flags upside down on their amps, but SNL crew members yanked them down just seven seconds before they went live. The band got through their first song, "Bulls On Parade," without a hitch, but sadly, they weren’t able to perform their second song.
When an SNL rep knocked on their dressing room door to tell them the show was running long and their second number was being cut, that's when things took a turn. Morello laid out the full sequence of events in an anniversary post on X today, explaining that bassist Tim Commerford grabbed one of the confiscated flags, balled it up, and launched it into Forbes' dressing room across the hall.
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Forbes wasn't there, but his family was. "Timmy C then attacked host/billionaire/presidential candidate Steve Forbes' family in the dressing room with a wadded up flag," Morello wrote in his post. The projectile ultimately fell apart mid-air, hurting no one—but the Secret Service wasn't amused. "Secret Service flooded the hallways," Morello continued. The band was locked in their room before being escorted out and put on the sidewalk at 30 Rock. Morello finished his post by noting, "Evil Empire entered the Billboard Album Chart at #1."
Today’s the 30th anniversary of RATM’S um, ‘memorable’ performance on SNL. There was a fight onstage between our crew and SNL stage hands moments before our performance, wrestling over some upside down American flags which adorned our amps. Timmy C then attacked… pic.twitter.com/rmZviVGyAC
— Tom Morello (@tmorello) April 13, 2026Drummer Brad Wilk also shared a post remembering the eventful evening, sharing a promotional photo along with a video of the performance on his Instagram. "30 yrs ago today RATM took it to the SNL stage... We were escorted out of the building after playing one song," he wrote.
Thirty years later, the ban still stands, but it seems Rage Against the Machine isn't phased.
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