SINEAD O’CONNOR courted controversy back in the 1990s after an infamous appearance on Saturday Night Live in the US where she ripped up a photo of Pope John Paul II.
But over the weekend journalist Audra Williams shared a story about how actor and musician Kris Kristofferson emerged as an ally to the Irish singer.
It all started 27 years ago.
In 1992, Sinead O'Connor ripped up a picture of the Pope on live television, in protest of the rampant child sexual abuse the Catholic Church was actively covering up.
— Audra Williams (@audrawilliams) January 20, 2019
In the weeks that followed, Andrew Dice Clay said he wanted to give her "such a smack", Frank Sinatra said he wanted to "kick her ass", and millionaire producer Jonathan King said she "needed a spanking".
— Audra Williams (@audrawilliams) January 20, 2019
She was 26.
— Audra Williams (@audrawilliams) January 20, 2019
Ten days later, she was scheduled to perform at Madison Square Gardens, as part of a celebration of Bob Dylan. As soon as she got to the microphone, the audience began loudly booing her, seemingly in unison.
— Audra Williams (@audrawilliams) January 20, 2019
She talked later about how awful the sound was, and how she thought she was going to be sick.
— Audra Williams (@audrawilliams) January 20, 2019
The organizers tasked Kris Kristofferson with removing O'Connor from the stage. He instead went out and put his arm around her and checked in on her and stayed until she'd steadied herself and was ready to perform. When she came off stage, he wrapped her in a bear hug.
— Audra Williams (@audrawilliams) January 20, 2019
About the incident, he says:
"Sinead had just recently on Saturday Night Live torn up a picture of the Pope, in a gesture that I thought was very misunderstood. And she came out and got booed. They told me to go get her off the stage and I said 'I'm not about to do that' [...]— Audra Williams (@audrawilliams) January 20, 2019
[...] I went out and I said 'Don't let the bastards get you down'. She said 'I'm not down' and she sang. It was very courageous. It just seemed wrong to me, booing that little girl out there. But she's always had courage."
— Audra Williams (@audrawilliams) January 20, 2019
The recent Gillette ad has started/furthered a lot of conversations about what alternatives to toxic masculinity look like. This is it. pic.twitter.com/xATL9KUr9K
— Audra Williams (@audrawilliams) January 20, 2019
This song was on his 2009 album "Closer to the Bone" pic.twitter.com/9qFtNYpRif
— Audra Williams (@audrawilliams) January 20, 2019
You can hear the song and watch their interaction here:https://t.co/c3gAxJ4zZG
— Audra Williams (@audrawilliams) January 20, 2019
You can see that she pulls away at one point and either throws up or nearly throws up. He just grabs her back in his arms and holds her tight. My heart. <3 pic.twitter.com/H34vIPYwDM
— Audra Williams (@audrawilliams) January 20, 2019
The story resonated with many people on Twitter, who were to praise Audra for shedding light on this forgotten chapter of that particular story.
Fellow Twitter users were also keen to praise both O'Connor for her bravery and Kristofferson for his supportive role.
Sinead has always been my hero & I knew Kris K was amazing but I didn’t know just how amazing👇🏽👇🏽 https://t.co/kInPaWAoGV
— rob delaney (@robdelaney) January 20, 2019
Please read this thread. I had a unique view of the concert, as I produced a version of it to air on television and was able to see interactions through this access. Kris was everything described and more. A true gentleman. And Sinead is not wrong about the Catholic Church either https://t.co/mI8dru9UD7
— Theresa Kereakes (@TheresaKereakes) January 20, 2019
He's a beautiful individual...!!
— Janice Ward (@JaniceW46844563) January 20, 2019
Oh my gosh.. I’ve always been a KK fan, but didn’t know about this. Beautiful.❣️
— R.P. Jacobs (@Jacobs20P) January 20, 2019
First time I’ve ever seen this . Thank you
— Fergie (@al_adferguson) January 20, 2019
Audra returned to Twitter to offer up a message to the positive response the post received.
I am so happy this story is resonating with and being shared by so many people. If anyone reading this happens to know either O'Connor or Kristofferson, please thank them for me. What they both did has been a source of comfort and strength since I was 16. <3
— Audra Williams (@audrawilliams) January 20, 2019
She also moved to highlight one notable error in her original series of tweets.
And was mixed up about one part: Andrew Dice Clay was the host of SNL the night that Sinead tore up the picture. She (and other women in the cast) refused to be in skits with him. It was Joe Pesci who -- when hosting the show a week later -- said he wanted to give her a slap.
— Audra Williams (@audrawilliams) January 20, 2019
And even uncovered a clip of Kristofferson sharing his side of the story.
For everyone in my mentions saying this didn't happen the way I said, here is Kris Kristofferson telling the story. Believe him or don't, I guess!https://t.co/0fLUgZFSLO
— Audra Williams (@audrawilliams) January 20, 2019
A truly remarkable story.
her strength to stand there before that crowd is humbling. what an amazing woman. her art brought things to light. she did something real and said something true.
— david andrew (@lucysbeau) January 21, 2019
