Miley Cyrus and Brittany Howard paid tribute to Sinéad O’Connor during “SNL50: The Anniversary Special” on Sunday evening. In 1992, O’Connor delivered a rendition of Bob Marley’s “War” on “Saturday Night Live.” At the conclusion of the episode, which was hosted by Tim Robbins, she infamously tore up a photograph of Pope John Paul II. As she scattered the pieces on the floor, she proclaimed, “Fight the real enemy.” O’Connor later explained that her actions were intended to highlight the issue of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church.
The pair, who had also performed at the “Saturday Night Live” concert special two nights earlier, chose to cover the Prince classic, “Nothing Compares 2 U,” during this occasion. This 1985 song gained widespread recognition when O’Connor included it on her second studio album, “I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got,” released in 1990.
On Sunday night’s SNL50: The Anniversary Special, Miley Cyrus collaborated with Brittany Howard to perform “Nothing Compares 2 U,” the iconic song written by Prince and popularized by Sinéad O’Connor.
Cyrus and Howard delivered a powerful rendition, with Howard infusing additional soulful guitar elements into the performance. O’Connor was known for her poignant yet robust vocal delivery of the breakup ballad, while Cyrus added a distinctive rasp to the familiar melody.
Although O’Connor was a two-time musical guest on SNL, she never performed her most famous hit on the show; “Nothing Compares 2 U” dominated the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks in 1990. O’Connor’s appearance on SNL in 1992 featured her a cappella cover of “War,” during which she held up a photo of Pope John Paul II and tore it in half after singing modified lyrics addressing child abuse. As she ripped the image, she declared, “Fight the real enemy!” This performance drew significant backlash at the time, and O’Connor did not return to the show before her passing in 2023.
Watch Cyrus and Howard’s best performance below:
She was subsequently banned from “Saturday Night Live,” ridiculed in subsequent sketches, and criticized by the host the following week, Joe Pesci. This incident significantly affected O’Connor’s career trajectory. Less than two weeks after the episode aired, she took the stage at the all-star Bob Dylan tribute concert in New York City, where she faced boos from the audience.
“A lot of people say or think that tearing up the pope’s photo derailed my career. That’s not how I feel about it,” she expressed in her memoir, “Rememberings,” published in 2021. “I believe that having a number-one record derailed my career, and tearing the photo helped me get back on the right path.”
In 2021, she revisited this moment during an interview with People magazine, acknowledging that she was “well aware there would be [backlash].”
She further remarked, “I understood it, because we joke in Ireland or in Europe that Americans don’t realize something has happened until it affects them personally. So I completely understood. I didn’t hold anyone responsible.”
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