Jim Carrey has described Soundgarden’s 1996 Saturday Night Live performance of ‘Pretty Noose’ as an “audio baptism”, recalling how powerfully the band affected him while he hosted the programme. His comments underline the lasting cultural influence of Soundgarden and Chris Cornell, whom Carrey regarded as central figures in the Seattle grunge movement.

Carrey said alternative rock revived his enthusiasm for rock music after he had grown up admiring hard rock, and that Soundgarden helped begin rather than merely join the grunge scene. Although he considers ‘Black Hole Sun’ the band’s “magnum opus”, he was struck by rehearsal for ‘Pretty Noose’, from 1996’s Down on the Upside; Cornell later gave him the Fender Telecaster used in the performance. Speaking at Soundgarden’s 2025 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, Carrey also praised Cornell’s songwriting and authenticity.