Morrissey lashes out over celebrity tributes to Sinead O’Connor - labelling them 'sterile slop' and 'too late'

27 July 2023, 14:09 | Updated: 15 August 2024, 14:05

Singer Morrissey has criticised tributes to Sinead O’Connor after her death at the age of 56.

The family issued a statement yesterday confirming her death and it later emerged she was found "unresponsive" at home. A cause of death has not been disclosed but police say her death is not being treated as suspicious.

After her death, many musicians and industry figures offered tributes.

But Morrissey, 64, penned a message criticising the reaction to her death, singling out stars and members of the press for not giving her enough support during her life.

He wrote: “The cruel playpen of fame gushes with praise for Sinead today”.

“She was dropped by her label after selling seven million albums for them. She became crazed, yes, but uninteresting, never. She had done nothing wrong.

Read more: Sinead O'Connor found 'unresponsive' at London home, as police say her death is not suspicious

“You praise her now ONLY because it is too late. You hadn’t the guts to support her when she was alive and she was looking for you.

“She was harassed simply for being herself. Her eyes finally closed in search of a soul she could call her own.“Tomorrow the fawning fops flip back to their online s***posts and their cosy Cancer Culture and their moral superiority and their obituaries of parroted vomit… all of which will catch you lying on days like today… when Sinead doesn’t need your sterile slop.”

Among stars to offer their tributes were Boy George, comedians Sharon Horgan and Dara O’Briain, actresses Jamie Lee Curtis and Toni Colette, actor Russell Crowe and MMA fighter Conor McGregor.

Sinead had struggled since her son Shane, 17, took his own life in January 2022 after escaping hospital while on suicide watch.

She said: “He was the love of my life, the lamp of my soul. We were one soul in two halves. He was the only person who ever loved me unconditionally.”

In a separate online post, she wrote: “'Been living as undead night creature since [his death]. I am lost in the bardo without him.”

Today police said in a statement: "Police were called at 11:18hrs on Wednesday, 26 July to reports of an unresponsive woman at a residential address in the SE24 area. Officers attended. A 56-year-old woman was pronounced dead at the scene.

"Next of kin have been notified. The death is not being treated as suspicious. A file will be prepared for the Coroner."

She had recently moved to her "nice new flat" in London, where she planned to "write new tunes" and hinted at a forthcoming album and a world tour.

Her family confirmed her death in a statement last night: "It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinéad. Her family and friends are devastated and have requested privacy at this very difficult time."

She was best known for her heartrending cover of Prince's Nothing Compares 2, which shot her to fame across the world in 1990.

She acquired an iconic status in Ireland over the years due to her vocal challenges to issues of misogyny, abuse and “uncomfortable truths” - particularly in the 80s and 90s.