# Hey, remember when Sinead O'Connor tore up the Pope's picture and pissed everybody off? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 23, 2010, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-remember-when-sinead-oconnor-tore-up-the-popes-picture-and-pissed-everybody-off/533511 "2010-03-23T18:10:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2010, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-remember-when-sinead-oconnor-tore-up-the-popes-picture-and-pissed-everybody-off/533511/21 "2010-03-23T21:48:35Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I don’t know, I’m a Catholic and my reaction at the time was a great big yawn. She tore up a photo on TV. Big deal. And I’m supposed to care about this why? > > I don’t think the priest even mentioned it at all in church, so it wasn’t a big deal there, either. When did priests talk about SNL (or similar venue/topic) in a church sermon? ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2010, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-remember-when-sinead-oconnor-tore-up-the-popes-picture-and-pissed-everybody-off/533511/22 "2010-03-23T21:52:08Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > \*\*BubbaDog \*\*- she has issues (clearly!) but she has a phenomenal voice and with the right material, can excel. Stuff like Mandinka and Jerusalem off her first CD, and Nothing Compares 2 U are really great songs and performances…[snip]… We may have to agree to disagree. Long before she had her Pope tantrum I thought that her performance of nothing Compares 2 U was just pretentious artsy twaddle. I don’t deny her vocal abilities and strengths. In fact, I think she wastes a beautiful voice trying to do something special with it instead of letting herself just sing. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2010, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-remember-when-sinead-oconnor-tore-up-the-popes-picture-and-pissed-everybody-off/533511/23 "2010-03-23T21:57:43Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > …as for the OP - the point is made: she was a bit of a [Cassandra](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassandra), i.e., speaking of something that no one wanted to hear and castigated her for it…IANACatholic, so can’t comment on that angle. It was an aggressive act within the context of what was supposed to be a bit of entertaining music - some folks don’t take to that too well, then or now… I didn’t listen to her because I thought she was wrong, I didn’t listen to her because it was a lunatic act. As proof of this, until this thread I didn’t even remember why she did what she did. If anyone needed her to tell them about the abuse scandals in 1992 then they had been living under a rock. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2010, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-remember-when-sinead-oconnor-tore-up-the-popes-picture-and-pissed-everybody-off/533511/24 "2010-03-23T21:59:12Z")
> [@The New and Improved Superman](#): > > Anyway, the moment that Sinead really lost my support (and I’ll bet a lot of other people’s support as well) was a few days _after_ the SNL gig. She appeared on MTV news to talk about it. Sinead was defensive, evasive, back-tracked on everything she’d said, and clearly had not researched her accusations, or even thought out what idea she was trying to express by her stunt. When you’re being confrontational and in-your-face when you’ve got a real message to get across, you’re a rebel. When you’re being confrontational and in-your-face just for the sake of looking like a rebel, you’re just an asshole. I mean, it was _MTV news_! It’s not exactly like they were asking her any hardball question. Rebel without a clue? She has a tremendous voice but if you read her life story it’s one big ride on the bipolar express. Maybe someone will do a 3D movie about it. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2010, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-remember-when-sinead-oconnor-tore-up-the-popes-picture-and-pissed-everybody-off/533511/25 "2010-03-23T22:26:57Z")
I remember an interview with her in _Rolling Stone_ where she moaned something about how because she wears combat boots nobody treats her like a lady. She seemed very surprised. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2010, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-remember-when-sinead-oconnor-tore-up-the-popes-picture-and-pissed-everybody-off/533511/26 "2010-03-23T22:27:19Z")
> [@BubbaDog](#): > > We may have to agree to disagree. Long before she had her Pope tantrum I thought that her performance of nothing Compares 2 U was just pretentious artsy twaddle. I don’t deny her vocal abilities and strengths. In fact, I think she wastes a beautiful voice trying to do something special with it instead of letting herself just sing. What was pretentious about her version of “Nothing compares 2 U”? I’m not sure what “artsy twaddle” means either. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2010, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-remember-when-sinead-oconnor-tore-up-the-popes-picture-and-pissed-everybody-off/533511/27 "2010-03-23T22:29:52Z")
> [@The New and Improved Superman](#): > > You see, it tends to get overlooked in hindsight, but Sinead O’Conner had a pretty well established history of obnoxious, hostile & ill-thought out ‘protest’ stunts that pretty much amounted to Sinead being an asshole for the sake of appearing ‘edgy’ and ‘rebellious’ - refusing to play the Star-Spangled Banner before a show was one thing, calling Bono of U2 a ‘douchebag’ was quite another. Oh come on now, who _hasn’t_ called him a douchebag? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2010, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-remember-when-sinead-oconnor-tore-up-the-popes-picture-and-pissed-everybody-off/533511/28 "2010-03-23T22:37:40Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Oh come on now, who _hasn’t_ called him a douchebag? 😃 My thoughts exactly. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2010, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-remember-when-sinead-oconnor-tore-up-the-popes-picture-and-pissed-everybody-off/533511/29 "2010-03-23T22:39:52Z")
Part of it was Pope John Paul II was a “rock star” pope. He had an appeal to people who weren’t even Catholics. No one cares about the current pope. I didn’t know who he was, I had to look him up. [Pope Benedict](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Benedict_XVI) John Paul was even more popular in the early to mid 80s. But it wasn’t a religious thing, people liked him, just 'cause he was famous. The same way Mr Obama is a celebrity president. Or people like Sarah Palin. No one takes her seriously. But people like her and she is interesting, even if you disagree with 100% of what she says. People want to see her. That is how it was with John Paul II. It wasn’t really about religion ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2010, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-remember-when-sinead-oconnor-tore-up-the-popes-picture-and-pissed-everybody-off/533511/30 "2010-03-23T22:41:12Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > What was pretentious about her version of “Nothing compares 2 U”? I’m not sure what “artsy twaddle” means either. I was wondering the same thing. I’m no big fan, but it’s such a simple, bare-bones cover, it’s probably the last “artsy” and “pretentious” thing she’s ever done. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2010, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-remember-when-sinead-oconnor-tore-up-the-popes-picture-and-pissed-everybody-off/533511/31 "2010-03-23T23:10:22Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > What was this all about? She had a tissy-fit about the National Anthem being played at some US venue before her show. I’d have to agree with The New and Improved Superman’s post and say she was just being an asshole. She had made many anti-American and anti-capitalism statements previously (she thought the Rodney King LA riots were, “Great!”) so this was just par for the course (apparently she didn’t have a problem with evil US capitalists paying her money to see her sing or buy her album!) The following week Frank Sinatra played at the same concert hall and said something to the effect that he would have ‘kicked her ass!’ This then provided great fodder for SNL sketches in which Phil Hartman (as Sinatra) and Jan Hooks (as Sinead) argued with each other with Hartman yelling, “What’s the problem cueball!!” When Blues Traveler were the SNL musical guest John Popper, the lead singer, wanted to hold up a picture of a jellyfish at the end of a song and say, “Fight the real anemone!” but they wouldn’t let him. Too bad as I find that pretty hilarious! ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2010, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-remember-when-sinead-oconnor-tore-up-the-popes-picture-and-pissed-everybody-off/533511/32 "2010-03-23T23:50:49Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > I was never clear on the nature of Sinead’s objection to JPII, back in 1992. Agreed. If the Pope picture ripping was all about priest sexual abuse, it would have been nice to know that then. I thought it was just the standard “The Pope is evil because of stuff that happened hundreds of years before any of us were born” tripe. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-remember-when-sinead-oconnor-tore-up-the-popes-picture-and-pissed-everybody-off/533511/33 "2010-03-24T00:04:36Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > She had a tissy-fit about the National Anthem being played at some US venue before her show. I’d have to agree with The New and Improved Superman’s post and say she was just being an asshole. She had made many anti-American and anti-capitalism statements previously (she thought the Rodney King LA riots were, “Great!”) so this was just par for the course (apparently she didn’t have a problem with evil US capitalists paying her money to see her sing or buy her album!) > > The following week Frank Sinatra played at the same concert hall and said something to the effect that he would have ‘kicked her ass!’ This then provided great fodder for SNL sketches in which Phil Hartman (as Sinatra) and Jan Hooks (as Sinead) argued with each other with Hartman yelling, “What’s the problem cueball!!” Oh, right. I didn’t realise that performers had to play the Star Spangled Banner before playing a show. But I guess it must have been a really pretty shitty thing she did if an upstanding citizen like Frank Sinatra wanted to “kick her ass!”. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-remember-when-sinead-oconnor-tore-up-the-popes-picture-and-pissed-everybody-off/533511/34 "2010-03-24T00:15:36Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Agreed. If the Pope picture ripping was all about priest sexual abuse, it would have been nice to know that then. I thought it was just the standard “The Pope is evil because of stuff that happened hundreds of years before any of us were born” tripe. It doesn’t have to be about sexual abuse. Because of the criminally retarded Catholic resistance to birth control, every Pope, not just Popes hundreds of years ago, has condemned millions of women to lives of grinding poverty, and thousands of these women have died as a result. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-remember-when-sinead-oconnor-tore-up-the-popes-picture-and-pissed-everybody-off/533511/35 "2010-03-24T00:35:00Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > I was wondering the same thing. I’m no big fan, but it’s such a simple, bare-bones cover, it’s probably the last “artsy” and “pretentious” thing she’s ever done. You heard simplicity where I heard melodrama. I still can’t listen to that song without picturing her hiccuping while singing the second “no-thing” in the refrain. But its music and its matter of taste. She obviously has some fans in this thread and we’d accomplish very little arguing over whether her music is gold or poop. It’s easy to take a shot at her for being a kook but her art is a subjective matter. I value **Wordman’s** opinion as well as yours and **Baron Greenback’s**. But I also think her music stinks. One of us may be wrong but in art and music it really doesn’t matter. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Facts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bb73d2/32.png) [@The\_Facts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Facts)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-remember-when-sinead-oconnor-tore-up-the-popes-picture-and-pissed-everybody-off/533511/36 "2010-03-24T00:41:32Z")
Hell, a lot of people would be dancing in glee if she did it today. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-remember-when-sinead-oconnor-tore-up-the-popes-picture-and-pissed-everybody-off/533511/37 "2010-03-24T02:15:32Z")
People are always dancing in _Glee_. I don’t really get it. It’s supposed to be a show about a _singing_ ensemble, not a dance troupe. ---
**Author:** ![Perciful](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b38774/32.png) [@Perciful](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Perciful)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-remember-when-sinead-oconnor-tore-up-the-popes-picture-and-pissed-everybody-off/533511/38 "2010-03-24T13:06:39Z")
> [@BubbaDog](#): > > You heard simplicity where I heard melodrama. I still can’t listen to that song without picturing her hiccuping while singing the second “no-thing” in the refrain. > > But its music and its matter of taste. She obviously has some fans in this thread and we’d accomplish very little arguing over whether her music is gold or poop. It’s easy to take a shot at her for being a kook but her art is a subjective matter. I value **Wordman’s** opinion as well as yours and **Baron Greenback’s**. > > But I also think her music stinks. One of us may be wrong but in art and music it really doesn’t matter. If she had any talent she buried it with her EGO. ---
**Author:** ![Perciful](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b38774/32.png) [@Perciful](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Perciful)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-remember-when-sinead-oconnor-tore-up-the-popes-picture-and-pissed-everybody-off/533511/39 "2010-03-24T13:14:53Z")
> [@Bill\_Door](#): > > It doesn’t have to be about sexual abuse. Because of the criminally retarded Catholic resistance to birth control, every Pope, not just Popes hundreds of years ago, has condemned millions of women to lives of grinding poverty, and thousands of these women have died as a result. Yeah, The Pope should listen to Sinead just get with the times and be pro-abortion! I wonder how many of us on the SD would be here typing if he had done that? A pro death Pope will be the end of Christianity. The Pope is all about Life and not death. He has probably saved more lives then you will ever know. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-remember-when-sinead-oconnor-tore-up-the-popes-picture-and-pissed-everybody-off/533511/40 "2010-03-24T13:17:43Z")
> [@Perciful](#): > > A pro death Pope will be the end of Christianity. Oh, mega bummer. We would never want _that_ to happen. PS: Birth control =/ abortion. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-remember-when-sinead-oconnor-tore-up-the-popes-picture-and-pissed-everybody-off/533511.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-remember-when-sinead-oconnor-tore-up-the-popes-picture-and-pissed-everybody-off/533511.md?page=3)