Read on Twitter
In 1992, Sinead O'Connor ripped up a picture of the Pope on live television, in protest of the rampant child sexual abuse the Catholic Church was actively covering up.
In the weeks that followed, Andrew Dice Clay said he wanted to give her "such a smack", Frank Sinatra said he wanted to "kick her ass", and millionaire producer Jonathan King said she "needed a spanking".
She was 26.
Ten days later, she was scheduled to perform at Madison Square Gardens, as part of a celebration of Bob Dylan. As soon as she got to the microphone, the audience began loudly booing her, seemingly in unison.
She talked later about how awful the sound was, and how she thought she was going to be sick.
The organizers tasked Kris Kristofferson with removing O'Connor from the stage. He instead went out and put his arm around her and checked in on her and stayed until she'd steadied herself and was ready to perform. When she came off stage, he wrapped her in a bear hug.
About the incident, he says:
"Sinead had just recently on Saturday Night Live torn up a picture of the Pope, in a gesture that I thought was very misunderstood. And she came out and got booed. They told me to go get her off the stage and I said 'I'm not about to do that' [...]
"Sinead had just recently on Saturday Night Live torn up a picture of the Pope, in a gesture that I thought was very misunderstood. And she came out and got booed. They told me to go get her off the stage and I said 'I'm not about to do that' [...]
[...] I went out and I said 'Don't let the bastards get you down'. She said 'I'm not down' and she sang. It was very courageous. It just seemed wrong to me, booing that little girl out there. But she's always had courage."
The recent Gillette ad has started/furthered a lot of conversations about what alternatives to toxic masculinity look like. This is it.
This song was on his 2009 album "Closer to the Bone"
You can hear the song and watch their interaction here:
You can see that she pulls away at one point and either throws up or nearly throws up. He just grabs her back in his arms and holds her tight. My heart. <3
I am so happy this story is resonating with and being shared by so many people. If anyone reading this happens to know either O'Connor or Kristofferson, please thank them for me. What they both did has been a source of comfort and strength since I was 16. <3
Also! Watch the whole thing here:
And was mixed up about one part: Andrew Dice Clay was the host of SNL the night that Sinead tore up the picture. She (and other women in the cast) refused to be in skits with him. It was Joe Pesci who -- when hosting the show a week later -- said he wanted to give her a slap.
I mean *I* was mixed up haha. I was just thinking that I had gotten through this whole thing without any typos. I flew too close to the sun.
For everyone in my mentions saying this didn't happen the way I said, here is Kris Kristofferson telling the story. Believe him or don't, I guess!
Other folks are saying what Sinead did wasn't about child abuse? I don't know what to tell you. On both shows, she performed Bob Marley's 'War', but added in lyrics about child abuse. She also gave this interview shortly after.
I also feel the need to clarify that I am not shilling for Gillette? I just stated the inarguable fact that their recent ad has both started and furthered conversations on the topic of toxic masculinity. I think @elamin88's take is perfect: https://twitter.com/elamin88/status/1085225611885461504
Good morning! I have a lot of DMs right now and my mentions are quite hectic so I am really behind on getting back to folks who have meaningfully reached out. Plz know that I am not intentionally ignoring you. Except this guy, who I am absolutely intentionally ignoring.
Um a lot of people are insisting Sinead couldn't have been talking about the sexual abuse that was happening in the church because that story "hadn't broken yet"? It baffles me. A story doesn't have to have broken for people to know it is happening. Also: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Church_sexual_abuse_scandal_in_Ireland?wprov=sfla1
Hey Twitter, look at this lovely thing that is about to happen! Huge thanks to Steve Bing and @joshuarolson. <3 <3 <3
Three months ago I decided to tell Twitter my favourite story of solidarity: Kris Kristofferson standing with Sinead O'Connor while the world was against her. That's maybe why you are following me! Those tweets found their way to Kris, and tonight I got to thank him in person. <3
