A resurfaced SNL clip of 'Goodfellas' star Joe Pesci saying he would have 'smacked' Sinead O'Connor is circulating online

• During a 1992 SNL performance, Sinead O'Connor famously tore up a photo of Pope John Paul II.
• A week later, "Goodfellas" star Joe Pesci appeared on the show and condemned the singer for the stunt.

A clip of "Goodfellas" star Joe Pesci criticizing Sinead O'Connor for her infamous SNL performance has resurfaced and begun circulating online following the Irish singer's death.

In 1992, after O'Connor finished a performing a cover of Bob Marley's "War," on "Saturday Night Live," she held up a photo of Pope John Paul II, then ripped it into three pieces. Before leaving the stage, she said to "fight the real enemy," a statement against child sex abuse within the Catholic Church that led to enormous backlash.

The following week, Pesci took the SNL stage, and began an opening monologue directed at O'Connor's performance. Now, 33 years later, Pesci's speech has begun recirculating the internet in the wake of O'Connor's death, The Independent first reported. O'Connor died Wednesday at the age of 56.

"Before we start the show, there's a little matter I wanna clear up. There was an incident on the show last week: Sinead O'Connor tore up a picture of the Pope, and I thought that was wrong, so I asked someone to paste it back together," he said, showing the photo to the audience.

"I mean why should I let it bother me, right? It wasn't my show," he continued. "But I'll tell you one thing, she was very lucky it wasn't my show, because if it was my show, I would have gave her such a smack."

Pesci continued, saying he would have "grabbed her by her eyebrows," a reference to O'Connor's shaved head.

Critics of Pesci's speech have taken issue with its suggestion of violence, with some coming to the late artist's defense.

"She was more brave, and more right, than she ever got credit for," one Twitter user wrote. Others called for him to apologize.

Pesci wasn't the only star to speak out against O'Connor's performance at the time. The singer was "banned" from returning to SNL, The New York Times reported. Madonna shared her disapproval of the stunt with the Irish Times.

"I think there's a better way to present her ideas rather than ripping up an image that means a lot to other people," she said, according to the Independent.