Why was Rage Against the Machine locked down by Secret Service? Guitarist Tom Morello shares the 1996 story that followed after their SNL appearance

Tom Morello, guitarist of Rage Against the Machine, shared in the NBC documentary Ladies & Gentlemen … 50 Years of SNL Music that the Secret Service locked down the band after their 1996 SNL performance of Bulls on Parade.

The April 13, 1996, episode, hosted by Republican presidential candidate Steve Forbes, saw the band turn American flags upside down in protest, transforming their performance into a bold act of political expression.

This act upset the SNL crew, who thought advertisers might not like it. Morello said in the documentary,

"We’re about to rock Bulls on Parade, and our roadies put the upside down flags back up onto the amplifiers. The stage manager is barking into his headset like, ‘Take those down right now!’"

After the crew removed the flags, the band performed Bulls on Parade. The band was then informed that their second song, Bullet in the Head, had been canceled.

This news upset the Rage Against the Machine bassist Timmy Commerford, who tore up one flag, turned it into a ball, and entered Forbes' dressing room to "attack" him. Steve Forbes' family was in the room.

After Commerford "attacked" the Forbes family with the ball, the Secret Service locked the band in their room to protect the Forbes family. Morello said,

"However, did I mention before that Steve Forbes had just been a presidential candidate? The hallway floods with Secret Service. We’re now locked in our room. They’re protecting Steve Forbes and his family. We get escorted out and put on the sidewalk at 30 Rock."

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Rage Against the Machine was banned from Saturday Night Live

Rage Against the Machine - Source: Getty

After Rage Against the Machine was escorted off the set in 1996, they were never invited back to the show. In the NBC documentary, Tom Morello said the SNL set had a "weird vibe" because Steve Forbes was hosting that night. He called the billionaire "boring" and said,

"We heard that Steve Forbes was going to be the host. He had just been a Republican candidate for president. He’s Forbes of Forbes magazine, one of the richest people in America, and one of the driest and most boring humans to ever walk the face of the earth… Let’s see how that works out."

Morello also shared that the SNL crew strictly told the rock band not to use upside-down American flags during rehearsal. According to MSNBC, sailors used inverted flags to indicate they were in danger. However, now, the inverted flag is considered a symbol of protest.

Morello said the band members refused to listen to the SNL crew.

"We were like, ‘You invited Rage Against the Machine, the ‘f*ck you, I won’t do what you tell me’ band."

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The documentary Ladies & Gentlemen … 50 Years of SNL Music will take a look back into more than 900 musical guests who performed on the show over the past 50 years. It will stream on Peacock on January 28, 2025.