Lily Allen has aired her frustrations over the outpouring of tributes to late singer Sinéad O’Connor.
The Irish singer died in London last week aged 56, rose to fame following the massive success of her cover version of Prince’s song ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’, which became a huge hit around the world in 1990.
O’Connor was also known for her political stances, including raising awareness of the child abuse scandal in the Catholic Church and the sexualisation of women in music. She famously tore up a picture of Pope John Paul II on SNL in 1992.
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And now the ‘Not Fair’ singer, 38, has called out those who are paying tribute to O’Connor to express her doubts that they would ever ‘align themselves’ with someone who ‘stood for something’.
She tweeted: ‘It’s hard not to feel incensed when there are so many people posting about Sinead and how fearless she was, people who would never in a million years align themselves with anybody who stood for something or had anything remotely controversial to say.”
“It’s so spineless. If you can’t stand up for people in life don’t do it in death,” she concluded.
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The actress and singer’s statements comes after Morrissey shared his own views last week by calling the tributes ‘sterile slop’.
In a lengthy post shared on his website, the singer lambasted those who didn’t support O’Connor when she was alive.
"She was dropped by her label after selling 7 million albums for them," he wrote.
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"She became crazed, yes, but uninteresting, never. She had done nothing wrong.
"She had proud vulnerability … and 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.
"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," he said.
"Who cared enough to save Judy Garland, Whitney Houston, Amy Winehouse, Marilyn Monroe, Billie Holiday? Where do you go when death can be the best outcome? Was this music madness worth Sinead’s life?
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"No, it wasn’t.
"She was a challenge, and she couldn’t be boxed-up, and she had the courage to speak when everyone else stayed safely silent.
"She was harassed simply for being herself. Her eyes finally closed in search of a soul she could call her own."
Topics: Celebrity, Music, Sinead O'Connor, Social Media, Twitter, Lily Allen
Gregory Robinson