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Sinéad O’Connor’s scathing letter to Miley Cyrus resurfaces: ‘The music business doesn’t give a s**t about you’-Rebecca Sayce-Entertainment – Metro
The Dublin hitmaker did not hold back.
![Sinéad O’Connor’s scathing letter to Miley Cyrus resurfaces: ‘The music business doesn’t give a s**t about you’-Rebecca Sayce-Entertainment – Metro](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/SEC_165697235-106d.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1024)
Late music icon Sinéad O’Connor did not hold back (Pictures: Getty)
No stranger to speaking her mind, Sinéad O’Connor’s open letter to pop star Miley Cyrus has gone viral following the Nothing Compares To U singer’s death aged 56.
The Irish singer’s death was confirmed on Wednesday by her family after she was found ‘unresponsive’ at a house in London hours earlier.
The outspoken musician was no stranger to controversy during her extensive career, causing outrage when she tore up a photo of Pope John Paul II on the US TV show Saturday Night Live.
Another such controversy was her unlikely feud with American pop icon Cyrus, 30, after she claimed the inspiration behind her music video for Wrecking Ball was inspired by O’Connor’s Prince cover.
O’Connor was not pleased with the comparison between her music video and that of the nudity-filled Wrecking Ball back in 2013, so she penned a letter to the musician, warning Cyrus: ‘Nothing but harm will come in the long run from allowing yourself to be exploited.’
She posted the letter on her website, stating it was fuelled by the ‘spirit of motherliness and with love.’
The Irish singer’s death was confirmed on July 26 aged 56 (Picture: David Corio/Redferns)
Since then, her explosive open letter to American pop star Miley Cyrus has been unearthed (Picture: RCA Records/YouTube)
Cyrus claimed that part of the inspiration behind her 2013 Wrecking Ball video was O’Connor’s Nothing Compares To U (Picture: EMI)
O’Connor was not happy with the comparison and fired back a lengthy letter to the singer (Picture: RCA Records)
‘Dear Miley, I wasn’t going to write this letter, but today I’ve been dodging phone calls from various newspapers who wished me to remark upon your having said in Rolling Stone your Wrecking Ball video was designed to be similar to the one for Nothing Compares … So this is what I need to say … And it is said in the spirit of motherliness and with love,’ she began.
‘I am extremely concerned for you that those around you have led you to believe, or encouraged you in your own belief, that it is in any way “cool” to be naked and licking sledgehammers in your videos. It is in fact the case that you will obscure your talent by allowing yourself to be pimped, whether it’s the music business or yourself doing the pimping.
She went on to warn the singer about the potential dangers of fame and exploitation and expressed that she was pleased that she was ‘somewhat of a role model’ for her.
‘Nothing but harm will come in the long run, from allowing yourself to be exploited, and it is absolutely NOT in ANY way an empowerment of yourself or any other young women, for you to send across the message that you are to be valued (even by you) more for your sexual appeal than your obvious talent,’ she continued.
Sinead O’Connor’s letter to Miley Cyrus in full
Dear Miley,
I wasn’t going to write this letter, but today I’ve been dodging phone calls from various newspapers who wished me to remark upon your having said in Rolling Stone your Wrecking Ball video was designed to be similar to the one for Nothing Compares … So this is what I need to say … And it is said in the spirit of motherliness and with love.
I am extremely concerned for you that those around you have led you to believe, or encouraged you in your own belief, that it is in any way ‘cool’ to be naked and licking sledgehammers in your videos. It is in fact the case that you will obscure your talent by allowing yourself to be pimped, whether it’s the music business or yourself doing the pimping.
Nothing but harm will come in the long run, from allowing yourself to be exploited, and it is absolutely NOT in ANY way an empowerment of yourself or any other young women, for you to send across the message that you are to be valued (even by you) more for your sexual appeal than your obvious talent.
I am happy to hear I am somewhat of a role model for you and I hope that because of that you will pay close attention to what I am telling you.
The music business doesn’t give a s**t about you, or any of us. They will prostitute you for all you are worth, and cleverly make you think its what YOU wanted … and when you end up in rehab as a result of being prostituted, ‘they’ will be sunning themselves on their yachts in Antigua, which they bought by selling your body and you will find yourself very alone.
None of the men ogling you give a s**t about you either, do not be fooled. Many’s the woman mistook lust for love. If they want you sexually that doesn’t mean they give a f**k about you. All the more true when you unwittingly give the impression you don’t give much of a f**k about yourself. And when you employ people who give the impression they don’t give much of a f**k about you either. No one who cares about you could support your being pimped … and that includes you yourself.
Yes, I’m suggesting you don’t care for yourself. That has to change. You ought be protected as a precious young lady by anyone in your employ and anyone around you, including you. This is a dangerous world. We don’t encourage our daughters to walk around naked in it because it makes them prey for animals and less than animals, a distressing majority of whom work in the music industry and its associated media.
You are worth more than your body or your sexual appeal. The world of showbiz doesn’t see things that way, they like things to be seen the other way, whether they are magazines who want you on their cover, or whatever … Don’t be under any illusions … ALL of them want you because they’re making money off your youth and your beauty … which they could not do except for the fact your youth makes you blind to the evils of show business. If you have an innocent heart you can’t recognise those who do not.
I repeat, you have enough talent that you don’t need to let the music business make a prostitute of you. You shouldn’t let them make a fool of you either. Don’t think for a moment that any of them give a flying fuck about you. They’re there for the money… we’re there for the music. It has always been that way and it will always be that way. The sooner a young lady gets to know that, the sooner she can be REALLY in control.
You also said in Rolling Stone that your look is based on mine. The look I chose, I chose on purpose at a time when my record company were encouraging me to do what you have done. I felt I would rather be judged on my talent and not my looks. I am happy that I made that choice, not least because I do not find myself on the proverbial rag heap now that I am almost 47 yrs of age … which unfortunately many female artists who have based their image around their sexuality, end up on when they reach middle age.
Real empowerment of yourself as a woman would be to in future refuse to exploit your body or your sexuality in order for men to make money from you. I needn’t even ask the question … I’ve been in the business long enough to know that men are making more money than you are from you getting naked. It’s really not at all cool. And it’s sending dangerous signals to other young women. Please in future say no when you are asked to prostitute yourself. Your body is for you and your boyfriend. It isn’t for every spunk-spewing dirtbag on the net, or every greedy record company executive to buy his mistresses diamonds with.
As for the shedding of the Hannah Montana image … whoever is telling you getting naked is the way to do that does absolutely NOT respect your talent, or you as a young lady. Your records are good enough for you not to need any shedding of Hannah Montana. She’s waaaaaaay gone by now … Not because you got naked but because you make great records.
Whether we like it or not, us females in the industry are role models and as such we have to be extremely careful what messages we send to other women. The message you keep sending is that it’s somehow cool to be prostituted … it’s so not cool Miley … it’s dangerous. Women are to be valued for so much more than their sexuality. We aren’t merely objects of desire. I would be encouraging you to send healthier messages to your peers … that they and you are worth more than what is currently going on in your career. Kindly fire any motherf*****r who hasn’t expressed alarm, because they don’t care about you.
‘I am happy to hear I am somewhat of a role model for you and I hope that because of that you will pay close attention to what I am telling you.
‘The music business doesn’t give a s**t about you, or any of us. They will prostitute you for all you are worth, and cleverly make you think its what YOU wanted … and when you end up in rehab as a result of being prostituted, “they” will be sunning themselves on their yachts in Antigua, which they bought by selling your body and you will find yourself very alone.
‘None of the men ogling you give a s**t about you either, do not be fooled. Many’s the woman mistook lust for love. If they want you sexually that doesn’t mean they give a f**k about you. All the more true when you unwittingly give the impression you don’t give much of a f**k about yourself.’
‘And when you employ people who give the impression they don’t give much of a f**k about you either. No one who cares about you could support your being pimped … and that includes you yourself.’
‘Yes, I’m suggesting you don’t care for yourself. That has to change. You ought be protected as a precious young lady by anyone in your employ and anyone around you, including you.’
O’Connor warned Cyrus of the potential dangers of stardom (Picture: Dave Benett/Getty Images)
Despite her expletive-laden warnings, O’Connor did praise Cyrus for her talent (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
‘This is a dangerous world. We don’t encourage our daughters to walk around naked in it because it makes them prey for animals and less than animals, a distressing majority of whom work in the music industry and its associated media.’
However, despite the damning contents of the letter, she did praise the singer and remarked on her talent before pleading with Cyrus to be mindful of the message she sends young women.
‘You have enough talent that you don’t need to let the music business make a prostitute of you. Whether we like it or not, us females in the industry are role models and as such we have to be extremely careful what messages we send to other women,’ she added.
‘Women are to be valued for so much more than their sexuality. We aren’t merely objects of desire. I would be encouraging you to send healthier messages to your peers … that they and you are worth more than what is currently going on in your career. Kindly fire any motherf****r who hasn’t expressed alarm, because they don’t care about you.’
Cyrus responded to the letter by sharing tweets from O’Connor trying to find a mental health treatment facility, captioning the post ‘Before Amanda Bynes… There was…’ referring to the She’s The Man star’s mental breakdown in 2013.
Cyrus fired back at O’Connor on Twitter (Picture: La Pictures5)
She targeted O’Connor’s mental health issues in the post before she was urged to remove her posts (Picture: Youtube)
Cyrus also tweeted: ‘Sinéad. I don’t have time to write you an open letter cause I’m hosting & performing on SNL [Saturday Night Live] this week. So if you’d like to meet up and talk lemme know in your next letter.’
O’Connor then responded: ‘You have posted today tweets of mine which are two years old, which were posted by me when I was unwell and seeking help so as to make them look like they are recent. In doing so you mock myself and Amanda Bynes for having suffered with mental health issues and for having sought help.
‘Remove your tweets immediately or you will hear from my lawyers. I am certain you will be hearing from all manner of mental health advocacy groups also. It is not acceptable to mock any person for having suffered.’
She also wrote on Facebook: ‘Miley Really? Who is advising you? Because taking me on is even more stupid than behaving like a prostitute and calling it feminism.
‘Ms. Cyrus has today posted tweets of mine which are two years old and which were sent when I was ill and seeking medical help. She has done this in an attempt to deliberately cause me harm and hurt.
‘Ms. Cyrus’ lawyers will be contacted by mine regarding this matter. I confirm also that I do not at all support or condone the abuse or mockery of those who have been brave enough to openly discuss mental health issues. Mockery causes deaths. It is an unacceptable form of bullying.’
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