Sinead O’Connor called the pope an ‘enemy’ on SNL. Chaos ensued.

Irish singer-songwriter Sinéad O’Connor sparked global outrage in 1992 when she, without informing the Saturday Night Live producers or her publicist, delivered her searing political message against the Catholic Church. Her protest came at the height of her music career and more than a decade before the church’s sexual abuse and coverups were widely acknowledged. The blowback — from media, Catholics, fellow artists, average Americans — seemingly set her bright career ablaze. But not for O’Connor. “Everyone wants a pop star, see? But I am a protest singer. I just...