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The late singer's recording of "Nothing Compares 2 U" has been played at Trump campaign rallies.
Sinéad O’Connor’s estate has demanded that Donald Trump cease using her music at his campaign rallies, noting that she had called him a “biblical devil.”
Trump has used her version of “Nothing Compares 2 U,” a song written and originally recorded by Prince, at some of his campaign events. But Trump goes against everything O’Connor stood for, said a joint statement released Monday by her estate and her longtime record label, Chrysalis Records.
“Throughout her life, it is well known that Sinéad O'Connor lived by a fierce moral code defined by honesty, kindness, fairness, and decency towards her fellow human beings,” the statement read, according to numerous media outlets. “It was with outrage therefore that we learned that Donald Trump has been using her iconic performance of Nothing Compares 2 U at his political rallies. It is no exaggeration to say that Sinéad would have been disgusted, hurt, and insulted to have her work misrepresented in this way by someone who she herself referred to as a ‘biblical devil.’ As the guardians of her legacy, we demand that Donald Trump and his associates desist from using her music immediately.”
Several other musicians or their representatives have objected to Trump’s use of their work. They include the Rolling Stones, REM, Adele, Linkin Park, and the family of the late Tom Petty.
O’Connor, known for her outspokenness as well as her haunting voice, died last July at age 56. The Irishwoman made clear her differences with the Roman Catholic Church; in a 1992 appearance on Saturday Night Live, she ripped up a picture of Pope John Paul II and declared, “Fight the real enemy.”
She came out as a lesbian in 2000, then backtracked; she had several marriages to men. “In my youth, I did some exploring of bisexuality,” she explained to The Advocatein 2012. “And perhaps I said things, put labels on things, and put measurements on things that actually you can’t put measurements on. I wouldn’t put labels of either gay or fucking straight or any other thing. I do believe people often explore their sexuality.”
