The feud between Miley Cyrus and the late Sinead O Connor is now ten years old.
Although with O’Connor’s passing, the ‘Wrecking Ball’ singer came to her terms, it was too late to say sorry. The ten-year-old feud was caused by a single comment that unintentionally sparked some bad blood between the two parties. But it wasn’t only the two of them who were affected. Paramore’s Hayley Williams also had some things to say about it. But first, let’s dive into how it all started.
What Caused the Feud?
The feud started when Cyrus claimed that the music video for her hit ‘Wrecking Ball’ was inspired by O’Connor’s ‘Nothing Compares 2 U.’ In both videos, both singers are seen crying, whereas in Cyrus’ video, she is also seen almost completely naked. O’Connor was not happy about the claims, so she shared an open letter regarding the claims.
O’Connor speculated that the video was a result of exploitation from the men around the singer, so in her letter, O’Connor touched on the fact that Cyrus was naked and licking sledgehammers and claimed that she was pimping both herself and her music career. She also noted that the music industry has been looking for places to ‘prostitute’ women, and in the long run, what she was doing would be harmful.
Miley’s Late Thoughts
Apparently, Cyrus was expecting to get backlash with the Wrecking Ball music video. But one name she did not expect to get slammed by was O’Connor. Speaking about the incident on her ‘Endless Summer Vacation: Continued (Backyard Sessions)’ special concert, the singer said that women who have been through the same stuff with her were slamming and criticizing her.
Hayley Williams’ Thoughts on the Feud
When O’Connor’s open letter was published, fans and followers were all concerned about whether or not it would get even bigger. But it concerned not only the fans but other singers as well. Right after the open letter was published, Paramore’s Hayley Williams reacted to the feud when asked whether or not she was taking sides:
“I can’t say that I am. My granny always says, ‘There’s this person’s side and that person’s side and the grey in between.’ When I first read Sinead’s letter, I actually reblogged it. It was cool to see an older woman expressing concern and, when I read it over once, I thought it seemed genuine— she’s concerned and she played the game and then decided not to play the game anymore.”
Williams put herself in Cyrus’ shoes and continued:
“I don’t think she would intentionally hurt someone but after reading it a few times, I realized that if that was me on the receiving end, I would be embarrassed because this is someone that I look up to. There are a lot of feelings and emotions and that’s the part that we don’t think about when we’re tweeting or talking about it. I would look like a total asshole if I was doing the things that Miley is [doing] and I wouldn’t feel genuine but I can’t sit here and say with 100 percent certainty that’s not who she is. At some point you let someone be who they are.”
Making it clear that she was not trying to be judgmental, she finished with the following:
“It’s crazy that we’ve had a million open letters, a thousand conversations, and everyone, at the core of it, is just judging someone. This person is finding their way in the industry and weathering the storm that is coming up in the Disney world. I think she’s figuring that out. I couldn’t do it. So I can’t sit on one side of the fence. I’m just trying not to be a judgmental jerk.”
So, although O’Connor’s plan was not to intentionally hurt Cyrus, it still took the attention of people. The two parties could not come together to make up and eventually, O’Connor passed away.
