Lorne Michaels Reveals Taylor Swift’s Surprising Reaction to SNL Spoofing Her Girl Squad in 2015 After She Asked Him Not to

The head of ‘Saturday Night Live’ said the singer asked him to cut a sketch that spoofed her “Bad Blood” music video from the show

Lorne Michaels (left) and Taylor Swift. Photo: Taylor Hill/WireImage; Neilson Barnard/Getty

Taylor Swift defined squad goals in 2015 — and now Lorne Michaels is giving insight into a hilarious sketch that made it onto his iconic show.

That year, Swift, 35, released her headline-making music video for the “Bad Blood” remix with Kendrick Lamar, which saw her assemble the ultimate A-list girl squad for a fiery music video.

The video — and the girl squad moment it birthed — inspired many imitations, including two sketches on Saturday Night Live season 41 in the months after the video’s premiere.

Every Time Taylor Swift Was on SNL

One sketch envisioned a post-apocalyptic world controlled fully by Swift and her girl squad, with a narrator joking that the singer “wanted to collect the whole world until there was no world left to collect.”

Taylor Swift’s ‘Bad Blood’ music video.Taylor Swift/Youtube

A few months later, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler co-hosted the show and went for a full-on recreation of the music video, which saw Poehler, Fey, Amy Schumer and Aidy Bryant take their own spin of the girl squad, along with cameos from Gayle King and Robert Downey Sr.

But Michaels reveals Swift initially had her hesitations about the spoofs. When she was contacted about making a cameo in one of the sketches, she reportedly called Michaels directly, according to a new Vulture profile.

During their call, Swift asked Michaels, 80, to cut the sketch from the show entirely, to which he replied, “Taylor, I do not negotiate with terrorists,” and then hung up.

Tina Fey, Amy Poehler spoof Taylor Swift’s ‘Bad Blood’.NBC

After the sketch aired on the show, Swift sent Michaels flowers, per the outlet, along with a note that said, “I hope there’s no bad blood.”

Swift’s original music video, released in May 2015, saw her bring together famous women from all across the industry. Everyone from models — Cindy Crawford, Gigi Hadid, Karlie Kloss and Lily Aldridge — to singers like Hailee Steinfeld, Ellie Goulding and Hayley Williams and stars including Zendaya, Jessica Alba, Ellen Pompeo and Mariska Hargitay were part of the fun. Swift’s longtime BFF Selena Gomez also starred.

Over the years, Swift has appeared on SNL many times. She first appeared on the show as a musical guest in 2009 and returned later that year to host. She has since returned multiple times, with the most recent cameo happening on Oct. 14, 2023 as she popped in to introduce musical guest and friend and collaborator, Ice Spice.

Musical guest Taylor Swift and host Phoebe Waller Bridge for ‘Saturday Night Live’ in October 2019.

Spoofs of Swift’s songs continue to be par for the course on SNL. Last year, Ryan Gosling hosted the show and during his monologue, he was joined by his Fall Guy costar Emily Blunt, as he performed his own rendition of “All Too Well,” inspired by his role in Barbie.

The performance was a way for him to handle the “break up” with his character from the film after they “went too deep,” and he said there was “really only one thing that can help” when processing a breakup”: Swift’s music.

“Because I was just Ken, and now I’m just Ryan,” he sang to the tune of “All Too Well,” and when Blunt joined him onstage, she got in on Swift’s song too and reflected on her role in Oppenheimer.

Saturday Night Live‘s 50th Anniversary Special airs Sunday, Feb. 16 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.