Sinéad O'Connor was once banned for ever from Saturday Night Live show after she ripped up the picture of Pope John Paul II in 1992.
On the show, Sinead performed a rendition of Bob Marley’s song War as an attempt to protest against sexual abuse of children in the Catholic Church.
Sinead took a photo of Pope John Paul II and began tearing it up the picture after singing the word “evil”, and then threw the pieces at the camera after she was done singing.
“Fight the real enemy,” said the late singer.
SNL team claimed that they did not know anything about the singer’s protest before her performance.
Meanwhile, in Sinead’s 2021 memoir Rememberings, she addressed the incident, adding, “Everyone wants a pop star, see? But I am a protest singer. I just had stuff to get off my chest. I had no desire for fame.”
Sinead revealed that she tore Pope’s photo to establish her protest against the sexual abuse of children in the church that was being concealed by the church.
In her documentary, Nothing Compares, Sinead discussed about the moment, stating, “I had come across an article about families who had been trying to lodge complaints against the church for sexual abuse and were being silenced.”
“An artist’s job is sometimes to create difficult conversations that need to be had.”