Sinead O’Connor’s open letter to Miley Cyrus in 2013 goes viral following her death: ‘Nothing but harm will come from allowing yourself to be exploited’
Sinead O’Connor’s open letter to Miley Cyrus has gone viral following the shock announcement of the Irish legend’s death at 56 yesterday.
The Nothing Compares 2 U hitmaker had an undoubtedly illustrious career that also included a number of controversies, including her feud with the Party in the U.S.A. singer, 30.
The dispute took place in 2013, after Miley told Rolling Stone that her nudity-filled video for hit song Wrecking Ball was inspired by Sinead’s Nothing Compares 2 U track.
However, Sinead was not impressed by the reference or the clip, which saw the Hannah Montana star swinging on a wrecking ball naked, and penned a public letter to the young star.
In the letter she warned Cyrus about the pitfalls of fame and being exploited, writing, ‘Nothing but harm will come in the long run from allowing yourself to be exploited.’
Words of advice: Sinead O’Connor’s open letter to Miley Cyrus has gone viral following the shock announcement of the Irish legend’s death at 56 yesterday; Pictured 2019
Inspired: The dispute between the singers took place in 2013, after Miley, 30, said her video for hit song Wrecking Ball was inspired by Sinead’s Nothing Compares 2 U track
Sinead began the letter, originally posted on her website sineadoconnor.com, stating that it was in the ‘spirit of motherliness and with love.’
‘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 its the music business or yourself doing the pimping,’ she went on.
‘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.’
Warning: In the letter she warned Cyrus that ‘nothing but harm will come in the long run from allowing yourself to be exploited’; Cyrus pictured in a still from her video
Talent: ‘You have enough talent that you don’t need to let the music business make a prostitute of you,’ she added; Pictured 2020
Open: Sinead O’Connor wrote her first letter to Miley after she was inspired by Nothing Compares 2U
Similar: In Wrecking Ball Miley is seen crying while starring at the camera just like in Sinead’s video
Not pleased: Cyrus retaliated against the letter by re-sharing Sinead’s tweets about trying to find a mental health treatment facility in Ireland, as she was struggling with psychiatric issues
Always a fan: Miley put an end to the feud later that year during an appearance on The Today Show saying, ‘I’m a big fan of hers, so it doesn’t really matter. It’s all good’; Sinead seen in 1990
‘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 it’s associated media.’
Despite the strong words in the letter, Sinead made it clear that she believed Miley had plenty of musical talent.
‘You have enough talent that you don’t need to let the music business make a prostitute of you,’ Sinead added in the lengthy letter.
At the end the singer pleaded with Miley to be careful about the message she was sending to young women.
‘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.’
‘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 retaliated against the letter by re-sharing Sinead’s tweets about trying to find a mental health treatment facility in Ireland, as she was struggling with psychiatric issues.
The We Can’t Stop singer captioned the screenshot ‘Before Amanda Bynes… There was…’ referring to the actress’ mental breakdown in 2013.
Not known: The cause of death of the legendary Irish singer remains a mystery, following yesterday’s announcement she had died; Pictured 2003
Icon: The star rose to international fame in 1990 with her rendition of ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ written by Prince
Cyrus also re-shared the now infamous photo of O’Connor tearing the Pope’s picture on Saturday Night Live in protest of child abuse in the church in 1992, which nearly cost the singer her career.
Sinead penned a number of other letters following the original, after the singer poked fun at her mental breakdown.
However, Miley appeared to put an end to the feud later that year during an appearance on The Today Show.
‘I think she’s an incredible artist, I think she’s an awesome songwriter, and I was really inspired by her for my Wrecking Ball video, which was what started the whole thing.’
‘I don’t know how someone can start a fight with somebody who said, “Hey, I really respect you. And I really love what you did.” You know what? You suck! I don’t like you! That was kind of crazy. But as I said, I’m a big fan of hers, so it doesn’t really matter. It’s all good.’
The cause of death of the legendary Irish singer remains a mystery, following yesterday’s announcement she had died.
News of the musician’s death broke yesterday, following years of news reports about her troubled private life.
O’Connor was distraught after her 17-year-old son Shane took his own life in January 2022 after escaping hospital while on suicide watch.
The star rose to international fame in 1990 with her rendition of ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ written by Prince.
SINEAD’S OPEN LETTER TO MILEY 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 its 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 fuck 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 it’s 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 f**k 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. Its really not at all cool. And its 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 its somehow cool to be prostituted … its so not cool Miley … its 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.’
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