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Morrissey hits out at Sinéad O’Connor tributes claiming it’s ‘too late’

The former The Smiths frontman has accused people of "not having the guts" to support O'Connor when she was "alive and looking for you".

Emily Sergeant - 27th July 2023

Morrissey has lashed out at tributes to the late Sinéad O’Connor, and has claimed people are only praising her now “because it’s too late”.

It seems the former frontman of iconic Manchester band The Smiths is living up to his recent controversial label and proving to be his outspoken self once again, as this time, he’s decided to take aim at the tributes paid to Sinéad O’Connor by celebrities and the media, accusing them of “not having the guts” to support her when she was “alive and looking for you”.

Legendary Irish singer Sinéad O’Connor sadly passed away at the of 56 yesterday, her “devastated” family confirmed in a statement.

O’Connor was most well-known for her famous 1990 cover of Prince’s ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’, as well as for releasing 10 critically-acclaimed solo albums throughout her revered career.

She was also known for being a vocal advocate for women in the music industry, for campaigning for women’s reproductive rights, and for publicly speaking out against the Catholic church, but was also known to have Bipolar Disorder and had been candid about her struggles with mental health over the years.

The singer’s death came 18 months after the death of her 17-year-old son Shane, who had been on suicide watch before his passing.

Her cause of death has not yet been disclosed, but is “not being treated as suspicious” by police.

In the hours since O’Connor’s death, many fans, famous names, and musicians and industry figures have publicly paid their tributes – but Morrissey has hit out at this response, and has taken to his personal website to have his say in an open letter.

Titled ‘You Know I Couldn’t Last’, Morrissey wrote that “the cruel playpen of fame gushes with praise for Sinead… [but] you praise her now ONLY because it is too late”, adding that many didn’t “have the guts to support her when she was alive and she was looking for you”.

He continued: “She was dropped by her label after selling seven million albums for them. 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.

“Music CEOs who had put on their most charming smile as they refused her for their roster are queuing-up to call her a “feminist icon”. And 15 minute celebrities and goblins from hell and record labels of artificially aroused diversity are squeezing onto Twitter to twitter their jibber-jabber… when it was YOU who talked Sinead into giving up…

“Because she refused to be labelled, and she was degraded, as those few who move the world are always degraded.”

The 64-year-old former frontman turned solo artist – who has always been outspoken throughout his career, but has more recently become a widely divisive and heavily critiqued figure due to publicly voicing his views on a number of contentious topics spanning the genres of politics, race, culture, religion, and more – closed out his letter by calling O’Conner “a challenge” but one that “couldn’t be boxed-up”.

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He praised her for having the “courage to speak when everyone else stayed safely silent”.

“She was harassed simply for being herself,” he concluded, “and her eyes finally closed in search of a soul she could call her own”.

Featured Image – Morrissey (via Facebook)