On live American television in 1992, this Irish singer finished an a cappella protest song, held up a photograph of Pope John Paul II, tore it into pieces and said "fight the real enemy" — and never appeared on that show again.
The full story
On 3 October 1992, Sinead O'Connor closed her Saturday Night Live performance of Bob Marley's 'War' by tearing up a photograph of Pope John Paul II and saying 'fight the real enemy'. She had held up a different image in dress rehearsal, so NBC had no warning; the network took thousands of complaints and she never appeared on the programme again. She was protesting child abuse in the Catholic Church. On 16 October she was jeered at Bob Dylan's 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration at Madison Square Garden, abandoned her planned song, sang 'War' again a cappella and was led offstage by Kris Kristofferson. Her 1990 recording of Prince's 'Nothing Compares 2 U' had been an international number one. She converted to Islam in 2018 and died on 26 July 2023; obituaries widely treated the 1992 protest as having been vindicated.
The clues we handed out
— She had held up a different photograph in dress rehearsal, so nobody in the control room knew what was coming.
— She was protesting the Catholic Church's handling of child abuse, a decade before the Boston Globe investigation made that a mainstream story.
— Thirteen days later she was jeered by the crowd at a Bob Dylan tribute concert at Madison Square Garden.
— Her recording of a Prince song had been an international number one two years earlier.
— Initials: S.O.
How this case played
ALLEGEDLY* edition No. 87. Three strikes to name Sinead O'Connor, with a free clue
unlocked after every miss.
*A blind item you can check. Every puzzle is drawn from the public record —
court records, official rulings, and moments that unfolded on live television — and the
records are linked above. Allegedly.
Privacy Policy · Terms of Service · Cookie Policy · Sitemap