Sinéad O’Connor became a global superstar. Then one live-TV protest turned her from pop icon into public enemy.
Shout out to BrooklynVegan for recommending this one.
And, my colleague Rob Kelly ranked this one as the #11 best feminist documentary.
Trailer for “Nothing Compares”
You Can’t Make This Sh!t Up
- In 1992, Sinéad O’Connor ripped up a photo of Pope John Paul II on live television during “Saturday Night Live” to protest child abuse in the Catholic Church. Overnight, the public turned on her and her music career never fully recovered.
- Two weeks later, she was booed at a Bob Dylan tribute concert at Madison Square Garden. Instead of backing down, she sang Bob Marley’s “War” a cappella directly at the hostile crowd before walking off the stage.
- Years later, investigations in Ireland confirmed widespread abuse inside Catholic-run institutions. The same abuse Sinéad had tried to warn the world about years before many people were willing to believe her.
Watch “Nothing Compares”
You can check the latest streaming options for “Nothing Compares” on Fubo.
Ratings:
- My Rating: 92/100
- IMDb Rating: 7.6/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 87/100 (Users); 99/100 (Critics)
Director’s Note: Kathryn Ferguson directed this 97-minute documentary. She focuses on the six years between 1987 and 1993. That was the period when Sinéad became one of the world’s biggest stars and then one of its most attacked public figures.
Release Date: January 21, 2022 (Sundance Film Festival)
Other Unique Stuff
- Prince wrote “Nothing Compares 2 U” and first released it through his side project, The Family. Sinéad’s 1990 version turned it into a global hit.
- The famous tear in the “Nothing Compares 2 U” music video was real. Sinéad said she became emotional while thinking about her mother.
Wrap Up:
“Nothing Compares” made me appreciate Sinéad O’Connor more than I did before. It is one of the best music documentaries I’ve seen because it is about the price she paid for speaking before the world was ready to listen.
Thanks for reading!
Heather Fenty, Guest Writer, Daily Doc