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Sinead O’Connor’s Past Controversies, Feuds, and Troubling History: Video

Sinead O’Connor has dominated headlines this week after claiming that she had overdosed and blaming her alleged suicide attempt on family members, but she has long been no stranger to controversy.

The Irish singer-songwriter, 48, first made headlines in 1990 with her breakout single, “Nothing Compares 2 U.” Two years after her big debut, O’Connor appeared on Saturday Night Live, where she protested against the Catholic Church on air. She incited backlash when she tore up a photo of Pope John Paul II on the TV program. 

Sinead O'Connor
Sinead O’Connor

Later, Madonna attacked O’Connor over the incident, and the two publicly lashed out against each other for many years. In 1995, O’Connor appeared on British late-night TV show After Dark, where she discussed the topic of child abuse within the Catholic Church.

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After several outbursts and incidents in the subsequent years, O’Connor once again made headlines in October 2013, when she wrote an open letter to Miley Cyrus following the “We Can’t Stop” hitmaker’s controversial MTV VMAs performance with Robin Thicke. O’Connor advised Cyrus to think about how females are depicted within the industry. “You don’t need to let the music business make a prostitute of you,” she wrote.

Cyrus then replied with a snarky response of her own, likening O’Connor to then-troubled former child star Amanda Bynes. 

Sinead O'Connor
Sinead O’Connor rips up a picture of Pope John Paul II October 3, 1992

A year later, O’Connor made enemies with U2, likening their album release to terrorism.

Though she managed to stay out of the spotlight for another year, O’Connor became a trending topic on Sunday, Nov. 29, after posting a troubling Facebook message in which she claimed she had overdosed. Local police later told Us Weekly that O’Connor was found safe and sound.

Related: Madonna's Craziest Controversies

However, the situation escalated the following day when O’Connor returned to Facebook to rip her children and her exes. The musician told her family members, “You’re dead to me,” and called them out as “murderers.”

She continued railing against her family on Tuesday, Dec. 1, when she pleaded for their help.

Watch the video above.

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