The moment Sinéad O'Connor ripped up a photo of the Pope on Saturday Night Live has resurfaced online following news of the singer's sudden death.
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 the Irish broadcaster RTE.
"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.
The Grammy-winning singer released her critically acclaimed debut studio album The Lion and the Cobra in 1987 and soon shot to international stardom 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.
Throughout her career, she released 10 studio albums between 1987 and 2014 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.
As well as being famous for her music, she also was known for some controversial moments. One of those happened in 1992 when she was the musical guest on the October 3 episode of Saturday Night Live to promote the release of her third album: 'Am I Not Your Girl?'
The then 26-year-old singer performed an acapella version of Bob Marley’s once-banned song 'War' and shocked the world after holding up a picture of Pope John Paul II and tearing it to pieces in front of the camera.
O'Connor - who was raised Roman Catholic - then exclaimed: "Fight the real enemy", before blowing out the candles on stage and walking off.
The fearless musician later explained that the stunt was to protest allegations of child sex abuse in the Roman Catholic Church.
The SNL performance had an immediate and lasting impact on her career as her actions resulted in her being banned for life by broadcaster NBC amid protests against her in the US, which saw copies of her records destroyed in New York Times Square.
Fellow stars like Madonna - who was also raised Catholic and referenced the religion in her music - spoke out against O'Connor after the broadcast. According to the New York Times, the 64-year-old singer told the Irish Times in 1992: "I think there is a better way to present her ideas rather than ripping up an image that means a lot to other people.
"If she is against the Roman Catholic Church and she has a problem with them, I think she should talk about it," Madonna reportedly added.
In addition, O'Connor appeared at a tribute show for Bob Dylan in New York a few days after the infamous performance and was booed off stage after actor Kris Kristofferson introduced her on stage by saying: "I’m real proud to introduce this next artist whose name became synonymous with courage and integrity."
Rolling Stone reported that she was later comforted by Kristofferson.
The 'Nothing Compares 2 U' star detailed in her 2021 memoir, Rememberings, that the controversial moment had a much deeper meaning. She revealed that the picture of the Pope was from her visit to her late mother Marie O'Grady's house after she died in 1985.
O'Connor recalled taking the photo off her wall, which she said was "the only photo she ever had up there," according to The New York Post. "My intention had always been to destroy my mother’s photo of the pope," she penned.
"It represented lies and liars and abuse. The type of people who kept these things were devils like my mother," she continued. "I never knew when or where or how I would destroy it, but destroy it I would when the right moment came."
Over the years, O’Connor has repeatedly said that she does not regret the performance or the impact it had on her career, stating: "I feel that having a No. 1 record derailed my career, and my tearing the photo put me back on the right track."
"I’m not sorry I did it. It was brilliant," she also said in 2021 to the New York Times. "But it was very traumatizing. It was open season on treating me like a crazy b***h.”
O’Connor adopted the name Shuhada' Sadaqat after converting to Islam in 2018.
She 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.
