Sinéad O’Connor estate demands Donald Trump ‘desist’ from using Nothing Compares 2 U at rallies
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The estate of the late Sinéad O’Connor has censured former US President Donald Trump’s use of “Nothing Compares 2 U” at his political rallies.
Trump – the 2024 Republican Party frontrunner – has played the Irish singer-songwriter’s 1990 hit song at his most recent political events in North Carolina and Maryland.
In a joint statement, O’Connor’s estate and her record label, Chrysalis, demanded that Trump “desist from using her music immediately”.
“Throughout her life,â¯it is well known that Sinéad O’Connor lived by aâ¯fierceâ¯moral code defined by honesty,â¯kindness, fairness and decency towards her fellow human beings. 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,” the statement reads.
“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.”
O’Connor, who died of natural causes on 26 July 2023 in London aged 56, was fiercely outspoken against the Catholic Church and an activist for many other causes, including politics as well as human and women’s rights. She had also been open about her struggles with mental health.
O’Connor was propelled to stardom in 1990 when her video for “Nothing Compares 2 U” aired on MTV. Her cover of the half-forgotten Prince track had a particularly poignant resonance for O’Connor, who alleged abuse at the hands of her mother.
O’Connor joins a growing list of artists who have objected to Trump using their songs, including Rihanna, Neil Young, Linkin Park, the late Tom Petty and Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler.
Additional reporting by the Associated Press.
