As the world mourns the sudden death of Sinead O’Connor, Morrissey has criticized the media and music industry for not supporting her during her life.
On Wednesday (July 26), it was announced that the acclaimed Irish singer sadly passed away at the age of 56, per a statement by her family to BBC.
"It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinéad," they shared. "Her family and friends are devastated and have requested privacy at this very difficult time."
Her cause of death has yet to be revealed.
Born Sinead Marie Bernadette O'Connor in Glenageary, County Dublin, in December 1966, the singer had a difficult childhood that she expressed throughout her musical career.
As a teenager, she was placed in Dublin's An Grianan Training Centre - once one of the notorious Magdalene laundries - which was set up to imprison young girls believed to be promiscuous. One nun there noticed her talent and brought her a guitar before setting her up with a music teacher. This led to the launch of O'Connor's musical career.
The artist released her critically acclaimed studio debut The Lion and the Cobra in 1987 and soon shot to international fame after her 1990 rendition of Prince's 'Nothing Compares 2 U' - which went on to top the Billboard Music Awards as the world's number-one single in 1990.
She then released 10 studio albums that deeply resonated with her fans worldwide, the second of which, 1990’s I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got, sold more than seven million copies.
The singer was well-known for her fierce activism and faced significant hardship in the music industry for speaking out about issues. One notable moment of her advocacy was when she stirred international outrage in 1992 after ripping up a picture of Pope John Paul II on Saturday Night Live in protest against child sexual abuse.
Her actions resulted in her being banned for life by broadcaster NBC and protests against her in the US, which saw copies of her records destroyed in New York's Times Square.
In the hours since her death, many musicians and industry figures such as the President of Ireland and Russell Crowe have paid tribute to the late star, but singer Morrissey has written a post criticizing the reaction to her death, claiming that she did not receive enough support when she was alive.
In a statement titled "YOU KNOW I COULDN’T LAST" on the 64-year-old's website, the former Smiths frontman wrote: "She had only so much 'self' to give. She was dropped by her label after selling seven million albums for them. She became crazed, yes, but uninteresting, never. She had done nothing wrong.
"She had proud vulnerability… and there is a certain music industry hatred for singers who don’t 'fit in' (this I know only too well), and they are never praised until death – when, finally, they can’t answer back," he continued. "The cruel playpen of fame gushes with praise for Sinead today… with the usual moronic labels of 'icon' and 'legend'".
Morrissey slammed that people are only honoring her now "because it is too late" and that they didn't have the "guts" to be vocal about their support for her when she was alive.
He then referenced other female stars who have passed away such as Judy Garland, Whitney Houston, Amy Winehouse, Marilyn Monroe, and Billie Holiday, and said: "Where do you go when death can be the best outcome? Was this music madness worth Sinead’s life?"
Morrissey went on to describe the 'Nothing Compares 2 U' star - who changed her name to Shuhada’ Sadaqat in 2018 after converting to Islam - as a "challenge," who couldn’t be "boxed up".
"She had the courage to speak when everyone else stayed safely silent. She was harassed simply for being herself," he added. "As always, the lame streamers miss the ringing point, and with locked jaws, they return to the insultingly stupid 'icon' and 'legend' when last week's words far more cruel and dismissive would have done."
"Tomorrow the fawning fops flip back to their online s***posts and their cozy Cancer Culture and their moral superiority and their obituaries of parroted vomit… all of which will catch you lying on days like today… when Sinead doesn’t need your sterile slop," he concluded.
O’Connor is survived by her three living children, Jake Reynolds, Roisin Waters, and Yeshua Bonadio. Her son Shane died last year at the age of 17.
Our thoughts are with O'Connor's loved ones at this time.
