Throughout his look on the brand new documentary “Girls & Gentleman… 50 Years of SNL Music,” Tom Morello revealed that he and his Rage Towards the Machine bandmates have been locked inside their dressing room by the US Secret Service after their 1996 efficiency on “Saturday Night time Stay” – which was hosted by then-Presidential candidate Steve Forbes.
This was their first and final efficiency on the present, as afterwards they have been primarily banned. Controversy started when RATM initially deliberate on performing with upside-down American flags displayed on their amps in protest of Forbes, however they have been eliminated by the SNL crew earlier than they took the stage.
After performing their first of two tracks, RATM have been knowledgeable that the second was being lower for time. This led to their bassist Tim Commerford lashing out at Forbes.
Recalling the incident, Morello stated:
“Our dressing room is true throughout the corridor from Steve Forbes. Time goes by. A consultant of SNL involves the door and says, ‘Appears to be like just like the present’s working slightly lengthy, and we’re gonna lower your second quantity’. After which they go away us alone. That was their mistake. Timmy doesn’t like issues like that. And he expresses himself. So, what he did was he took one of many American flags and he tore it up and he knotted it right into a ball. You may name it a weapon. And he entered Steve Forbes’ dressing room throughout the best way to assault him.
“Steve Forbes was not in his dressing room, however his household was. So Timmy launches his American flag ball rocket at aunts, cousins, wives, kids. Thankfully, the type of strong integrity of it isn’t so nice. So… it flaps aside, hurting nobody. Did I point out earlier than that Steve Forbes had simply been a presidential candidate? The hallway floods with Secret Service. We’re now locked in our room. They’re defending Steve Forbes and his household.
“We get escorted out and placed on the sidewalk at 30 Rock. You may discover Rage isn’t within the farewells on that specific present. I nonetheless went to the after social gathering.”
