Fans of the legendary Irish singer have hit out against the obit.
As a huge number of people have taken to social media to pay touching tributes to Sinéad O’Connor after the announcement of her passing on Wednesday (26 July), one Guardian obituary to the legendary Irish singer and musician has come under fire.
The lengthy article was published by The Guardian and dives deep into both the ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ singer’s career and personal life. However, several fans of O’Connor’s have hit out against the obit, with it being described as “unnecessarily judgemental”, “nasty” and “unfair”.
In particular, fans have taken issue with the following two passages in The Guardian piece:
“If the global superstardom conferred by Nothing Compares 2 U was brief – she lacked the determination needed to keep a top-flight pop career aloft – O’Connor nonetheless remained a household name for the rest of her life.”
“Her fervour was accompanied by an inability to edit her pronouncements: years before oversharing became the internet’s default mode, she regularly revealed troubling personal details about her mental health, relationships and family, causing one journalist to mock her as “the crazy woman in pop’s attic”, to which she took great exception.”
You can read some of the reactions to the obit below:
The Guardian obituary for Sinead O'Connor is rank. 'She lacked the determination needed to keep a top-flight pop career aloft'? She was 'The crazy woman in pop’s attic'? What the actual fuck https://t.co/qcQMNsENnx pic.twitter.com/qQ7Mwpq5t4
— Generic English Teacher (@TabitaSurge) July 27, 2023
"She lacked the determination needed to keep a top-flight pop career aloft…" and was prone to "oversharing'" as she "regularly revealed troubling personal details about her mental health" – Why has @guardian been so nasty and unfair in its official obituary for Sinead? https://t.co/tFgT7vkNzb
— Radhika Bordia (@radhikabordia) July 27, 2023
Sinead O’Connor was a great artist who deserved tributes to her considerable talent. This miserable excuse for an obituary in today’s Guardian is not it. pic.twitter.com/hD7abznpnX
— Alexander Larman (@alexlarman) July 27, 2023
https://twitter.com/houseoflabrys/status/1684445751974285318
The Guardian obituary for Sinead O'Connor is one of the worst pieces I've read in a long time. So nasty and totally missing the point of what she stood for.
— Donna Hennessy (@DonnaHennessy) July 27, 2023
Hardly ‘lacked the determination.’ Talk about getting it areaways. Sinéad O’Connor obituary | Sinéad O'Connor | The Guardian https://t.co/uRBhTo14h2
— Des Traynor (@Des_The_Dog) July 27, 2023
I swear every time a popstar dies, the Guardian's obituary scans like it was written by someone whose dog was run over by that popstar
— Ross McCafferty (@RossMcCaff) July 27, 2023
Meanwhile, following the news of O’Connor’s passing at the age of 56, Oscar-winner Russell Crowe took to Twitter to share a heartwarming story about meeting the singer in Dublin last year.
You can read about that encounter right here, as well as about more tributes to O’Connor at this link.
Related articles:
- Sinead O’Connor’s family release statement following iconic singer’s death
- Russell Crowe recalls lovely encounter with Sinéad O’Connor outside Dublin pub
- Heartbreaking tributes pour in as Sinead O’Connor passes away aged 56
- Sinead O’Connor, acclaimed Irish singer and activist, dies aged 56
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