On the day of her passing, a Twitter account paid tribute to Sinéad O’Connor by sharing a video of her 1992 SNL performance of ‘War,’ where she ripped a photo of Pope John Paul II in the end. Retweeting the video, another user talked about the backlash the singer received after the show. A few days later, Alex Skolnick also shared his thoughts on the matter through the app.
The fan’s comment about what happened following the performance read:
“By the time Sinéad O’Connor sang this (1992), some 70,000 children had been sexually abused by Catholic priests & brothers in Ireland. The state, media, bishops, cardinals & pope had covered it up. She was scorned.”
In response, Skolnick wrote:
“Sinéad protested the Church. The Chicks protested the War. Both were shunned, shamed, silenced & blacklisted. Today, even staunch Catholics can’t deny the scandals, while right-leaning conservative Americans agree the US invasion of Iraq was wrong. They were right. Remember that.”
O’Connor’s family confirmed her death on July 26 with a short statement to the press. After this, many names from the industry took to Twitter and Instagram to pay tribute to the Irish singer. In one post, Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan praised her art and stance on social matters while also referring to the 1992 incident. He explained:
“I knew Sinead a little, having met her at a show of hers and then later when she was living at the Walker’s home outside of Chicago. Fiercely honest and sweet and funny, she was talented in ways I’m not sure she completely understood, but Sinead stands alone as a figure from our generation who was always true to the piercing voice, within and without. And for that, I will always admire and respect her and never forget that she was once canceled for an act of simple resistance. Her crime? Tearing up a photo.”
You can see Skolnick and Corgan’s tweets below.
Sinéad protested the Church. @thechicks protested the War. Both were shunned, shamed, silenced & blacklisted. Today, even staunch Catholics can’t deny the scandals, while right-leaning conservative Americans agree the US invasion of Iraq was wrong. They were right. Remember that.
— Alex Skolnick (@AlexSkolnick) July 30, 2023
https://twitter.com/Billy/status/1684280760730267648
