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Sinead O’Connor dead at 56

Irish musician’s family announced passing on Wednesday

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Sinead O'Connor interviewed on "Good Morning Britain" three weeks ago discussing her conversion to Islam (YouTube screenshot of "Good Morning Britain")

In a statement released by her family, it was announced that Sinead O’Connor has died at the age of 56.

The pop singer rocketed to fame three decades ago with her 1990 cover of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U,” but gained notoriety for her political positions and denouncing pedophilia existing within the Catholic Church.

“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,” the statement read.

Her death follows a year after she lost her 17-year-old son Shane, who died by suicide. The singer’s passing was reported on Wednesday, however details surrounding her death remain unknown currently.

O’Connor, has four children by four partners and has been married three times. She had converted to Islam in 2018 and changed her name to Shuhada Sadaqat. She continued to perform under the name Sinead O’Connor. She was also politically active and open about her life, often offering public opinions and commentary that offended some people.

In 1992, she tore up a photograph of Pope John Paul II on Saturday Night Live, earning her a ban from NBC’s iconic late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show.

In a profile of that moment reported in the music industry publication Far Out, writer Jack Whatley noted: 

“Taking to the famous Studio 8H stage, the camera panned to O’Connor, who, staring directly down the barrel, delivered a cappella rendition of Bob Marley’s song ‘War.’ The track choice was a deeply poignant one and was delivered as an attempt to protest against the widespread sexual abuse of children in the Catholic Church. It was intended to flip Marley’s original war on racism and train its crosshairs on child abuse.”

O’Connor, who started to sing the lyrics: “We have confidence in good over evil,” held up a photograph of Pope John Paul II to the camera at the very moment she sang the word “evil,” and with a flash of intensity, both in her eyes and vocals, she began tearing it up in pieces, throwing them at the camera and stating: “Fight the real enemy.” Apparently, the photo was one that had been situated on her own mother’s wall since 1978.

O’Connor was also quite open about intimate details of her life with fans and the press.

In a Aug. 31, 2011, article from Reuters, her sexual orientation was a central focus. Reuters reported that the singer revealed “her sexual frustration in a series of blog and Twitter posts, much to the amusement of her followers.”

Reuters noted: “I am in the peak of my sexual prime and way too lovely to be living like a nun, and it’s VERY depressing,” wrote O’Connor in a blog posted earlier this month. 

The singer has previously spoken of her romantic relationships with men and women.

O’Connor outed herself as a lesbian in an interview with Curve magazine in 2000, but later retracted the statement and in 2005, told Entertainment Weekly “I’m three-quarters heterosexual, a quarter gay. I lean a bit more towards the hairy blokes.”

As word of her death spread, the Irish Times newspaper in Dublin reported that Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar tweeted:  “Really sorry to hear of the passing of Sinéad O’Connor. Her music was loved around the world and her talent was unmatched and beyond compare.” 

Colm O’Gorman, executive director of Amnesty International Ireland, said to the paper in a statement: “It is hard to think of an artist who has had the social and cultural impact of Sinead. What a loss. Heartfelt condolences to her children, her family and all who loved her.”

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Adele shuts down ‘Pride sucks’ heckler at Las Vegas show

British singer is a long-time LGBTQ ally

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Adele (Screen capture via "I Drink Wine" music video on YouTube)

British pop megastar and longtime LGBTQ ally Adele reacted to a member of the audience who repeatedly yelled “Pride Sucks” in between songs during her show Saturday night in Las Vegas.

Adele, who is continuing her iconic residency, Weekends with Adele, at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, has been a strong LGBTQ supporter. Last year, she celebrated Pride Month during her Las Vegas residency wearing a black dress with a rainbow flag train and Pride-themed confetti. 

Sitting down on the piano bench next to her pianist bantering with the audience which is routine, the singer eviscerated the unseen audience member:

“Did you come to my fucking show to say Pride sucks? Are you fucking stupid?” Adele angrily said reacting. “Don’t be so fucking ridiculous. If you have nothing nice to say, shut up, alright?”

The incident, which was caught on cell phone footage and posted to X, has since gone viral:

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Actor Richard Dreyfuss mocks transgender people in misogynistic rant

‘Jaws’ star appeared at suburban Boston theater

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Richard Dreyfuss walked onto the stage wearing a blue floral pattern house dress, pausing to turn away from the audience and shake his hips suggestively, actions that were caught on multiple mobile phone video footage posted online. (YouTube screenshot)

Patrons at The Cabot theater in the suburban Boston town of Beverly were all set to celebrate the 49th anniversary viewing of the classic 1975 Steven Spielberg horror film “Jaws,” along with a question and answer with one of the film’s stars actor Richard Dreyfuss, when from the minute Dreyfuss appeared on stage, the event derailed.

Dreyfuss walked onto the stage wearing a blue floral pattern house dress, pausing to turn away from the audience and shake his hips suggestively, actions that were caught on multiple mobile phone video footage posted online. Then two stage hands appeared and tore the dress off the actor who then took his seat opposite the event’s moderator.

According to Variety and the Boston Globe’s reporting, Dreyfuss ranted about subjects reported to include transgender people, Barbra Streisand, the #MeToo movement, and women in general. As attendee Diane Wolfe described it to the Boston Globe, “[Dreyfuss] said that the parents of trans youth, allowing them to transition, was bad parenting and that someday those kids might change their minds.”

Facebook/social media advertisement for the ‘Jaws’ screening by The Cabot.

A number of members of the audience took offense and left the venue. On The Cabot’s Facebook page one attendee wrote: “This was disgusting. How could The Cabot not have vetted his act better. Apparently (I found out too late), he has a reputation for spewing this kind of racist, homophobic, misogynistic bull crap.”

The Cabot has since limited commenting on its page.

The Cabot Executive Director J. Casey Soward on Sunday apologized in a statement that read:

“We regret that an event that was meant to be a conversation to celebrate an iconic movie instead became a platform for political views. We take full responsibility for the oversight in not anticipating the direction of the conversation and for the discomfort it caused to many patrons,” Soward said. “We are in active dialogue with our patrons about their experience and are committed to learning from this event how to better enact our mission of entertaining, educating and inspiring our community.”

WBSM News Talk Sports Radio in New Bedford–Fall River reported that The Cabot also sent an email, that the station had been forwarded, to those who purchased tickets apologizing.

“Dear Cabot Patrons,

I am writing to address an important matter concerning last night’s event with Richard Dreyfuss at The Cabot.

We deeply regret that Mr. Dreyfuss’s comments during the event were not in line with the values of inclusivity and respect that we uphold at The Cabot. We understand that his remarks were distressing and offensive to many of our community members, and for that, we sincerely apologize.

At The Cabot, we are committed to fostering a welcoming and inclusive environment for all members of our community. The views expressed by Mr. Dreyfuss do not reflect our beliefs, and we do not endorse them in any way.

We take full responsibility for the oversight in not anticipating the direction of the conversation and for any discomfort it caused.

We are taking immediate steps to ensure that such an incident does not happen again. This includes more rigorous vetting of our event participants and more proactive communication strategies to keep our audience informed.

Thank you for your understanding and continued support of The Cabot.

We value your feedback and are dedicated to learning from this experience to better serve our community.”

The actor has a lengthy record of anti-trans remarks and bigotry. He has directed transphobic rants about trans youth affirming their gender and has taken aim at the Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences calling out the Academy’s diversity efforts in a 2023 PBS’ Firing Line broadcast saying that the Academy’s focus on diversity “makes me vomit.”

“We’re so fragile that we can’t have our feelings hurt,” he also said. “We don’t know how to stand up and bop the bully in the face.”

Deadline reported that Dreyfuss apparently made similar comments at a Friday night “Jaws” screening at the Music Hall in Portsmouth, N.H. “I live in Mass, but The Cabot showing was all booked so I saw him in N.H. on May 24,” a Facebook commenter wrote. “He made anti-gay remarks that night too.”

The actor has not responded to requests by multiple media outlets for comment.

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John Waters released from hospital after car accident

Crash took place in Baltimore County

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John Waters (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

BY TAJI BURRIS | Baltimore filmmaker John Waters was released from the hospital Tuesday morning following a car accident.

The 78-year-old released a statement saying that although he was hurt in the Baltimore County crash, he did not sustain major injuries.

The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.

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