Irish singer Sinéad O’Connor has passed away, according to the Irish Times. She was 56 years old.
O’Connor released 10 studio albums throughout her career, though she is most well-known for her single “Nothing Compares 2 U.” It was named the No. 1 world single by the Billboard Music Awards in 1990, which gained her global fame and accolades.
In 2018, she converted to Islam, changing her legal name to Shuhada Sadaqat, though she continued to use the name “Sinéad O’Connor” professionally. She had four children, though she was preceded in death by her 17-year-old son, Shane, who committed suicide a year ago. O’Connor’s cause of death has not been released at this time.
O’Connor published a memoir, titled Rememberings, in 2021, in which she discussed being pressured to have an abortion by label executive Nigel Grainge; Grainge allegedly was so invested in ensuring that O’Connor aborted, he went to her doctor and told him to “impress upon” her a warning not to continue with the pregnancy.
“Your record company has spent £100,000 recording your album. You owe it to them not to have this baby,” she said the doctor told her, and continued, “Furthermore, he informed me that if I flew while pregnant, my baby would be damaged. And anyway, if I was going to be a musician I ought not to have babies because a woman shouldn’t leave her baby to go on tour and at the same time a child can’t be taken on tour.”
Despite the intense pressure to abort, O’Connor refused and gave birth to her son Jake. Despite choosing life in this instance, O’Connor reportedly had one abortion after her son’s birth, and later gave birth to three more children. Unfortunately, O’Connor’s experience of being pressured to abort her baby is not unusual. Studies have found that the majority of women who undergo abortions are pressured to do so. This is especially true in Hollywood, in which women are used for their beauty and sexuality, and then punished for their fertility.
Though notorious for ripping up a picture of the Pope on Saturday Night Live in protest of child sexual abuse, O’Connor was an outspoken advocate for women in Hollywood throughout her career. Miley Cyrus, for example, cited O’Connor’s video for “Nothing Compares 2 U” as inspiration for the music video for her song, “Wrecking Ball.” In Cyrus’ video, she appeared scantily clad and riding a literal wrecking ball; O’Connor responded with an open letter posted on her website to Cyrus encouraging her not to allow the Hollywood machine to sexualize and exploit her.
You are worth more than your body or your sexual appeal. The world of showbiz doesn’t see things that way, they like things to be seen the other way, whether they are magazines who want you on their cover, or whatever.. Don’t be under any illusions.. ALL of them want you because they’re making money off your youth and your beauty.. which they could not do except for the fact your youth makes you blind to the evils of show business. If you have an innocent heart you can’t recognise those who do not.
… Whether we like it or not, us females in the industry are role models and as such we have to be extremely careful what messages we send to other women. The message you keep sending is that its somehow cool to be prostituted.. its so not cool Miley.. its dangerous. Women are to be valued for so much more than their sexuality. we aren’t merely objects of desire. I would be encouraging you to send healthier messages to your peers.. that they and you are worth more than what is currently going on in your career.
O’Connor is survived by three of her children, who released a statement announcing her passing. “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinéad,” the statement read. “Her family and friends are devastated and have requested privacy at this very difficult time.”
Editor’s Note, 7/30/23: This post has been updated.
