The day Sinéad O'Connor tore up the photo of the Pope live on 'Saturday Night Live' in protest

The music industry is in mourning again.

Oliver Thansan
Oliver Thansan
26 July 2023 Wednesday 17:17
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The day Sinéad O'Connor tore up the photo of the Pope live on 'Saturday Night Live' in protest

The music industry is in mourning again. This same Wednesday we learned the news that the Irish singer Sinead O'Connor had died at the age of 56 after years of battling mental health problems, according to media such as the Daily Mail or Irish national television. The artist's family has been in charge of confirming this devastating news, which comes 18 months after her 17-year-old son Shane took her own life.

This unexpected news has left many of the artist's followers speechless, who were especially able to enjoy it in the 1990s, when it achieved great popularity, thanks to its numerous recording works, among which one of His most famous singles and the one with which he achieved the most success, his version of Prince's Nothing Compares 2 U.

During those years, the artist always stood out for her personality, her radical image for that time, wearing high military-style boots and with a shaved head. In addition, she was always very involved in political and military issues, showing her support for the IRA paramilitary group and the Sinn Fein political party on more than one occasion. All of these characteristics of her made her a true anti-system symbol in the 1990s.

For this reason, one of his most remembered moments on the small screen will always be his intervention on the Saturday Night Live program. The artist participated in the mythical television space in 1992.

But what seemed like a simple television appearance turned into a real scandal, which infuriated a large part of the most religious population and with which the singer also had to face a great barrage of criticism for years to come.

The controversy began when the Irish woman went on stage in the program and in protest against child abuse that had occurred in the church, she decided to tear up a photograph of Pope John Paul II live.

''Children, fight. It seems necessary to us. We know we are going to win. We have confidence in the victory of good over evil,'' the artist said, singing each word as if it were a song, while she tore apart the image of the Pope.