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Photo Credit: Bryan Ledgard https://www.flickr.com/photos/ledgard/14828633401/ (License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en) |
Sinead O'Connor was truly a badass. She was only 25 years old when she tore up a picture of Pope John Paull II on live television. She was the musical guest on SNL on October 3, 1992 and I was watching the show live. I was 28 years old and didn't understand what "Fight the Real Enemy" or tearing up the picture meant at the time.
It was nearly a decade later that the Spotlight team from The Boston Globe published their earth-shattering investigative report that uncovered years of child abuse and child rape by perverted pedophile priests. Catholic priests. Then, we all understood what Sinead was trying to tell us.
The abuse had been hidden, covered up, ignored, and condoned for many years by the powerful Catholic church, including Pope John Paul II - the one whose picture was shredded on live TV. She knew back then of the abuse and she sacrificed herself and her career to try to educate us and give voice to the helpless victims. She was a badass.
After Sinead's SNL performance, the backlash and personal attacks were fast and severe. She was condemned by Madonna and Phil Hartman. Lorne Michaels banned her from ever coming on SNL again. The National Coalition of Organizations concocted a publicity stunt by renting a bulldozer to crush all her records in Times Square. And Joe Pesci appeared on SNL a week later with a taped up photo of Pope John Paul II and he got whoops and loud applause from the audience when he said he would have smacked Sinead O'Connor if he had been there when she tore up the picture. I don't ever recall any of these people apologizing to her once the truth was revealed. I don't recall any of them condemning the Catholic Church abuse either.
For anyone who has been paying attention to Sinead's life, we know she died with dignity and poise. Her actions throughout her life showed us who she was: She shaved her head at the age of 20 to defy music executives who told her to be more feminine. She refused 4 grammy nominations and an MTV video award because she wanted to use her music to do good, not earn her material milestones. She openly talked about her childhood abuse and her mental illness, hoping it would help herself and others. She tore up Pope John Paul II's picture to protest years of sexual abuse and to give voice to the helpless child victims.
Sinead O'Connor died on July 26, 2023 at the age of 56.
She was truly a badass.
Peace Be With Her.
Sources:
https://www.irishcentral.com/opinion/niallodowd/sinead-oconnor-pope-picture
https://www.irishcentral.com/news/irishvoice/boston-globes-journalist-spotlight-crimes-catholic-church
https://ultimateclassicrock.com/sinead-oconnor-pope-saturday-night-live/
https://nypost.com/2023/07/31/joe-pesci-said-he-would-smack-sinead-oconnor-for-pope-snl-stunt/
https://ew.com/music/sinead-oconnor-pope-photo-snl/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8577740.stm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_abuse_scandal_in_the_Roman_Catholic_Archdiocese_of_Boston
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sin%C3%A9ad_O%27Connor