LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM: Legendary Irish singer Sinead O'Connor was announced to have died at the age of 56 on Wednesday, July 26, after she was reportedly found "unresponsive" at her London home. In addition to establishing herself as a celebrated and successful musician, O'Connor, who changed her name to Shuhada Sadaqat after converting to Islam in 2018, was known for being straightforward and outspoken throughout her life.
In the wake of the singer's sudden death, her fiery open letter to Miley Cyrus has resurfaced, going viral online. The singer penned the letter in 2013, calling out Cyrus after the latter said that her bold 'Wrecking Ball' music video was inspired by O'Connor's hit 'Nothing Compares 2 U'. While the letter sparked an infamous feud between the two singers, O'Connor initially mentioned that she wrote it in the "spirit of motherliness and with love."
'I am extremely concerned for you'
Back in 2013, Cyrus made headlines for her 'Wrecking Ball' music video and told Rolling Stone that the clip was inspired by O'Connor's 'Nothing Compares 2 U'. However, the Irish music icon was left unimpressed by the reference as well as Cyrus' video and wrote an open letter criticizing the 'Hannah Montana' star. "Dear Miley, I wasn't going to write this letter, but today I've been dodging phone calls from various newspapers who wished me to remark upon your having said in Rolling Stone your Wrecking Ball video was designed to be similar to the one for Nothing Compares … So this is what I need to say … And it is said in the spirit of motherliness and with love," O'Connor stated at the beginning of the letter.
"I am extremely concerned for you that those around you have led you to believe, or encouraged you in your own belief, that it is in any way 'cool' to be naked and licking sledgehammers in your videos. It is in fact the case that you will obscure your talent by allowing yourself to be pimped, whether it's the music business or yourself doing the pimping," O'Connor continued, adding, "Nothing but harm will come in the long run, from allowing yourself to be exploited, and it is absolutely NOT in ANY way an empowerment of yourself or any other young women, for you to send across the message that you are to be valued (even by you) more for your sexual appeal than your obvious talent."
Furthermore, the 'Troy' singer went on to warn Cyrus, stating, "I am happy to hear I am somewhat of a role model for you and I hope that because of that you will pay close attention to what I am telling you. The music business doesn't give a s**t about you, or any of us. They will prostitute you for all you are worth, and cleverly make you think its what YOU wanted … and when you end up in rehab as a result of being prostituted, 'they' will be sunning themselves on their yachts in Antigua, which they bought by selling your body and you will find yourself very alone," she added.
"None of the men ogling you give a s**t about you either, do not be fooled. Many's the woman mistook lust for love. If they want you sexually that doesn't mean they give a f**k about you. All the more true when you unwittingly give the impression you don't give much of a f**k about yourself. And when you employ people who give the impression they don't give much of a f**k about you either. No one who cares about you could support your being pimped … and that includes you yourself." "Yes, I'm suggesting you don't care for yourself. That has to change. You ought be protected as a precious young lady by anyone in your employ and anyone around you, including you. This is a dangerous world. We don't encourage our daughters to walk around naked in it because it makes them prey for animals and less than animals, a distressing majority of whom work in the music industry and its associated media," she mentioned, pointing out the alleged dark sides of the music industry.
"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. I repeat, you have enough talent that you don't need to let the music business make a prostitute of you. You shouldn't let them make a fool of you either. Don't think for a moment that any of them give a flying f**k about you. They're there for the money… we're there for the music. It has always been that way and it will always be that way. The sooner a young lady gets to know that, the sooner she can be REALLY in control," O'Connor reiterated.
The musician also pointed out what Cyrus told Rolling Stone, mentioning, "The look I chose, I chose on purpose at a time when my record company were encouraging me to do what you have done. I felt I would rather be judged on my talent and not my looks. I am happy that I made that choice, not least because I do not find myself on the proverbial rag heap now that I am almost 47 yrs of age … which unfortunately many female artists who have based their image around their sexuality, end up on when they reach middle age."
She further expressed, "Real empowerment of yourself as a woman would be to in future refuse to exploit your body or your sexuality in order for men to make money from you. I needn't even ask the question … I've been in the business long enough to know that men are making more money than you are from you getting naked. It's really not at all cool. And it's sending dangerous signals to other young women. Please in future say no when you are asked to prostitute yourself. Your body is for you and your boyfriend. It isn't for every spunk-spewing dirtbag on the net, or every greedy record company executive to buy his mistresses diamonds with."
Moreover, O'Connor also addressed Cyrus' attempt of leaving behind her 'Hannah Montana' image and said, "Whoever is telling you getting naked is the way to do that does absolutely NOT respect your talent, or you as a young lady." She argued, "Your records are good enough for you not to need any shedding of Hannah Montana. She's waaaaaaay gone by now … Not because you got naked but because you make great records." "Whether we like it or not, we 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 it's somehow cool to be prostituted … it's so not cool Miley … it's 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. Kindly fire any motherf****r who hasn't expressed alarm, because they don't care about you," wrote the 'This Is the Day' singer, as a conclusion to the letter.
How did Miley Cyrus respond to Sinead O'Connor's letter?
Cyrus took to social media to respond to O'Connor's letter by resharing the latter's tweets about her attempts to find a mental health treatment facility in Ireland amid her struggles with psychiatric and mental health issues. The 'Party In The USA' singer took a screenshot of a series of O'Connor's tweets and shared the image with a caption that read, "Before Amanda Bynes… There was…," in reference to the actress' 2013 mental breakdown.
Cyrus also reshared the infamous photo where O'Connor can be seen ripping Pope John Paul II's picture during a 'Saturday Night Live' episode in protest against alleged ongoing Catholic Church sexual abuse cases in 1992, a move that nearly cost the Irish singer her career. Following Cyrus' response, O'Connor went on to write more letters addressed to the 'Jaded' singer. However, Cyrus decided to end the feud toward the end of 2013, acknowledging the situation during an appearance on 'The Today Show'. "I think she's an incredible artist, I think she's an awesome songwriter, and I was really inspired by her for my 'Wrecking Ball' video, which was what started the whole thing," Cyrus stated at the time, continuing, "I don't know how someone can start a fight with somebody who said, 'Hey, I really respect you. And I really love what you did.' You know what? You suck! I don't like you! That was kind of crazy. But as I said, I'm a big fan of hers, so it doesn't really matter. It's all good."
