She protested sexual abuse, sexual harassment and talked openly about mental health.
A few hours before Beyoncé was set to take the stage for her concert at Ford Field, music lovers got the news that an Irish singer popular during another generation, Sinead O’Connor, had died at 56.
O’Connor’s popularity was during a time in which audiences were not ready to hear what she wanted to express or fully understand her health struggles. In many ways, she was ahead of her time, protesting sexual abuse, sexual harassment and talking openly about mental health.
She was remembered Wednesday in obituaries as a politically provocative, and moving, musician who shaved her head. Her biggest hit was “Nothing Compares 2 U.” In 2007, she said she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and tried to take her life at 33.
Many of the reports mentioned what most people, in addition to her songs, remembered her for: In 1992, her moment in the spotlight on «Saturday Night Live» ended in a performance of Bob Marley’s «War.» She ripped up a photo of Pope John Paul II, which shocked and outraged audiences.
O’Connor would say the move was to protest of child sex abuse by the Catholic Church.
