Hollywood is buzzing after a bombshell revelation exposed how Saturday Night Live mastermind Lorne Michaels once pulled strings to rescue Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards from a near-certain life sentence in prison—and the story is wilder than any movie plot.
According to a newly unearthed interview from an upcoming biography about Michaels, the SNL creator reportedly intervened during Richards’ infamous 1977 drug arrest in Canada, where the rocker faced charges of heroin possession. At the time, Canadian authorities threatened Richards with a life sentence under strict narcotics laws, a punishment that could’ve ended the Stones’ reign—and changed music history forever.
But behind the scenes, Michaels, then fresh off SNL’s meteoric rise, allegedly called in favors from high-powered connections to negotiate a plea deal. Sources claim Michaels leveraged his growing influence to convince prosecutors that Richards’ career—and a promised Rolling Stones performance on SNL—would “serve the public better than a jail cell.” The gamble worked: Richards received a suspended sentence and snuck back to the U.S. just in time for the band’s 1978 Some Girls tour, which skyrocketed them back to fame.
“Lorne didn’t just save Keith—he saved rock ’n’ roll,” claims a longtime Stones insider. “Without that deal, Keith might’ve faded into obscurity, and the Stones could’ve disbanded. Lorne’s always been the guy who fixes chaos quietly.”
Richards later joked about the ordeal during a 1987 SNL hosting gig, quipping, “I owe Lorne my liver… and my freedom.” Meanwhile, Michaels has never publicly addressed the claims—until now. The biography’s author teases, “This is just one of Lorne’s countless behind-the-scenes heroics. The man’s a ghostwriter of history.”
Fans are floored, with social media exploding over the “unlikely friendship” between the straight-laced comedy guru and the rock world’s most infamous wild child. Could this story inspire a biopic? Only time will tell.
Drop your reactions below—would the Stones have survived without Lorne’s help?