Sinead O'Connor apologises for comparing herself to Jamaican men
Published:Tuesday | June 1, 2021 | 6:19 PM
Controversial Irish singer, Sinead O'Connor, has apologised for stereotyping when she compared herself to Jamaican men for purposely having four children by four different men.
She was promoting her memoir, Rememberings, on BBC Woman's Hour show on Tuesday morning with host Emma Barnett when she made the statement.
The Grammy award-winning singer later tweeted that the interview was “offensive and misogynistic” and hit out at Barrett and the show for various "abusive" comments.
She also said sorry if she had offended Jamaican men.
“Also, apologies if I accidentally offended Jamaican men. I was referring to specific friends of mine in the music business. Jamaican people are my favourite people on this earth, and Jamaican male musicians my biggest inspiration,” she tweeted, and posted Oh B***o K***t, a song from Peter Tosh’s classic 1981 reggae album, Wanted Dread And Alive.
In her post-interview tweets, Sinead, who changed her name to Shuhada' Davitt in 2018, wrote: "Actually found the interview with @Emmabarnett extremely offensive and even misogynistic..."
During the discussion, Barrett referred to The Telegraph's music critic Neil McCormick, 60, who had described Sinead as "the crazy lady in pop's attic" – a reference the singer later described as "abusive and invalidating".
Sinead O’Connor, who has been through several upheavals through the years, stirred controversy two decades ago when she pulled out of the Grammy Awards and refused to accept her award for Best Alternative Album.
She slammed the event, saying they "honoured people [who] achieved material success rather than those who have told the truth or done anything to inspire".
However, what was surely her defining moment came the following year when, at the peak of her career, she tore a picture of the pope while appearing on Saturday Night Live in the United States.
Sinead O'Connor performed an a cappella cover of Bob Marley's War on October 3, 1992, rewriting a few of the lyrics to address child abuse, as well as Marley's themes of racism and the evils of war.
As she finished the song, she produced and tore to shreds a photograph of Pope John Paul II, shouting, "Fight the real enemy!"
She later said the move was a protest against sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.