Miley Cyrus unfazed by backlash over Sinead O’Connor tribute on ‘SNL50’: ‘It’s quite comical to her’

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Miley Cyrus is apparently not bothered at all by the backlash over her Sinead O’Connor tribute at the 'Saturday Night Live' 50th anniversary concert.

The 'Wrecking Ball' singer, 32, took the stage on Sunday, February 16, to perform 'Nothing Compares 2 U', a song made iconic by the late Irish singer.

While some fans found the tribute touching, others were less than impressed due to the history between the two artists.

It's also worth noting that Sinead herself had been banned for life from 'SNL' after she infamously tore up a picture of the Pope during a performance in 1992—a bold protest against the Catholic Church. That context made Miley’s decision to sing the song even more controversial.

But according to a source close to Miley, she’s not losing sleep over the criticism.

Miley Cyrus knew 'SNL50' performance would offend some people

"It was absolutely Miley’s idea to sing 'Nothing Compares 2 U' and she believes she killed it," an insider dished to Daily Mail. "She is aware of the backlash and she knew going into this that it would cause some people to get offended … It is actually quite comical to her."

The pop star was joined by acclaimed musician Brittany Howard for the performance and notably, she made zero mention of Sinead herself. That silence did not go unnoticed.

"Miley does not believe that she needs to give credit to Sinead for a song that was not even hers to begin with," the source continued. "If anything, Miley would have credited Prince, who was a huge inspiration for her."

Also, she couldn't care less about the social media pushback after her performance.

"Miley will never apologize for something that she owes no apology for. So, as usual, Miley is going to let this chatter bounce off her," the source added.

"She believes that she delivered a beautiful performance of a Prince song. She really has no time to dwell on a performance that is over," they said.

Backlash for performing a Sinead O’Connor cover

It didn’t take long for social media to erupt with opinions. After 'SNL' shared a clip of Miley Cyrus' performance at 'SNL50: The Anniversary Special', the replies were brutal.

"I like Miley Cyrus but she had no business signing that song. Brittney Howard ate her lunch on that stage," one responded. 

"You banned Sinéad for life, contributed to the ruining of her career, had Joe Pesci say he would’ve smacked her during his monologue. All for protesting the truth about the Catholic Church and child abuse. This woman died alone. Seriously, how dare you?" someone else fumed.

"I’m a fan, but this was a disservice," another added.

A feud that started a decade ago

Miley Cyrus and Sinead O' Connor's history goes way back to 2013 when the pop star said her 'Wrecking Ball' music video was inspired by Sinead’s 'Nothing Compares 2 U' visual.

Sinead was not thrilled with that comparison. She fired back with an open letter in which she dragged Miley for oversexualizing herself. "It is in fact the case that you will obscure your talent by allowing yourself to be pimped, whether it's the music business or yourself doing the pimping," the veteran artist wrote.

She continued, "Nothing but harm will come in the long run, from allowing yourself to be exploited, and it is absolutely NOT in ANY way an empowerment of yourself or any other young women, for you to send across the message that you are to be valued (even by you) more for your sexual appeal than your obvious talent. I am happy to hear I am somewhat of a role model for you and I hope that because of that you will pay close attention to what I am telling you."

She also warned Miley about the predatory nature of the music industry: "This is a dangerous world."

But Miley did not take it in stride. Instead, she clapped back by posting screenshots of past tweets where Sinead had discussed her struggles with mental health and captioned it, "Before Amanda Bynes… There was…"

It was a low blow, comparing Sinead to the former Nickelodeon star who had her own very public battle with mental illness.

Does Miley Cyrus regret her clash with Sinead O' Connor? 

Years later, Miley Cyrus finally reflected on the feud during her 2023 ABC concert special. She admitted that she hadn’t fully understood what Sinead was going through at the time.

"I was expecting there to be controversy and backlash [from the 'Wrecking Ball' video], but I don’t think I expected other women to put me down or turn on me, especially women that had been in my position before," she said.

"This is when I’d received an open letter from Sinead O’Connor, and I had no idea about the fragile mental state that she was in, and I was also only 20 years old, so I could really only wrap my head around mental illness so much. All that I saw was that another woman had told me that this idea was not my idea," the 'We Can't Stop' hitmaker added.

Miley said the incident "deeply upset her," but she concluded with a more respectful tone. "God bless Sinead O’Connor, for real, in all seriousness," she said.

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