When Sinéad O'Connor's notorious potshot at the Pope was excommunicated from a recent Saturday Night Live repeat, the bit joined a long list of lost moments in entertainment. Below are some of the notable no-nos we may never see or hear again.
WHAT: Madonna's 1989 Pepsi ad featuring ''Like a Prayer''
WHY: Rev. Donald Wildmon and a Texas bishop attacked the ad not for its
own content but for the images of burning crosses and a black Christ
figure in Madonna's ''Like a Prayer'' video, which was released
simultaneously.
WHERE IT STANDS: The commercial was shown once, then yanked off the air. Madonna's
payoff: $5 million.
WHAT: Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story, director Todd Haynes' campy
1987 film about the '70s singer
WHY: Karen's brother, Richard, objected to the Carpenters' music being
in the film, which uses Barbie dolls to portray characters.
WHERE IT STANDS: In 1990 Richard got a court order to have all prints in
distribution destroyed. A few underground copies remain.
WHAT: The last four minutes of Michael Jackson's 1991
''Black or White'' video
WHY: The King of Pop smashed up car windows with a crowbar, shattering
his image as a role model.
WHERE IT STANDS: Overwhelmingly negative reaction and the charge that the video
condoned violent behavior forced Jackson and Sony's Epic Records to
excise the final four.
WHAT: Prince's Black Album, scheduled for a 1988
release
WHY: The Purple One is reported to have nixed its release because he
thought the material too depressing.
WHERE IT STANDS: Only 26 copies remain; one sold recently for $13,500. There are no
plans to release the album.
WHAT: Pee-wee's Playhouse, cut from CBS' Saturday- morning lineup in 1991
WHY: Paul Reubens (a.k.a. Pee-wee Herman) was charged with indecent
exposure in a Florida theater that shows X-rated movies; he pleaded
no contest and paid a $50 fine.
WHERE IT STANDS: According to his agent, Reubens has not yet opened bidding for
syndication rights but could at any time.
