The always-outspoken British singer Morrissey had harsh words for the gushing tributes paid to Irish star Sinéad O’Connor after her death on Wednesday, writing on his blog, “You praise her now ONLY because it is too late.”
“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 wrote.
While O’Connor drew widespread backlash for calling out sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in 1992, the former Smiths frontman has been criticized in recent years for his support of far-right politics and his racist statements.
“The cruel playpen of fame gushes with praise for Sinead today… with the usual moronic labels of ‘icon’ and ‘legend.’ You praise her now ONLY because it is too late. You hadn’t the guts to support her when she was alive and she was looking for you,” Morrissey continued.
He blasted music CEOs who “are queuing-up to call her a ‘feminist icon,”’ after her death, blaming the industry for turning its back on her. “She was dropped by her label after selling 7 million albums for them…. she refused to be labelled, and she was degraded, as those few who move the world are always degraded.”
The “Everyday is Like Sunday” singer compared her to other female celebrities who died too soon, such as Judy Garland, Whitney Houston, Amy Winehouse, Marilyn Monroe and Billie Holiday.
“She had the courage to speak when everyone else stayed safely silent. She was harassed simply for being herself,” he wrote.
Morrissey concluded, “Her eyes finally closed in search of a soul she could call her own. As always, the lamestreamers miss the ringing point, and with locked jaws they return to the insultingly stupid ‘icon’ and ‘legend’ when last week words far more cruel and dismissive would have done… Sinead doesn’t need your sterile slop.”
On Thursday, officials stated that O’Connor’s death is not being treated as suspicious. No cause or manner of death has yet been revealed. The “Nothing Compares 2 U” singer was 56.
