Sinead O'Connor slams Rolling Stone's Kim Kardashian cover
Irish musician's four-letter attack called 'disgusting', but should we celebrate her right to rant?
Irish singer Sinead O'Connor has stirred controversy after attacking a Rolling Stone cover featuring Kim Kardashian and calling for a boycott of the magazine, but some have cheered her outspoken stance.
In an angry Facebook post about the rock music magazine's cover, which features a Kardashian in a plunging top and sailor hat, O'Connor asked: "What is this c*** doing on the cover of Rolling Stone? Music has officially died. Who knew it would be Rolling Stone that murdered it?" She added the hashtag "#BoycottRollingStone".
Many people who commented on the post agreed, reports the Daily Telegraph. One Facebook user, Lily Hoshi, wrote: "Rolling Stone hasn't been a serious music mag in a long time, but yeah, this cover choice is extra annoying."
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While some thought that O'Connor was getting worked up over nothing. Morgan Mcdonald wrote: "Let's not pretend that this is the first non-musician or even first reality star to be on the cover of rolling stone. Rolling Stone hasn't been about the music for a long time now. Get over yourself."
Others thought that O'Connor, 48, had gone too far. Maeve McDermott of USA Today says that the Irish singer's distaste for Kardashian comes as no surprise, but "even for Sinead, this is harsh".
"Sinead, we hate to break it to you, Rolling Stone doesn't just feature ageing rockers on its covers," says McDermott. She points to recent covers featuring Nicki Minaj, Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber.
Celebrity website Just Jared also thinks O'Connor had gone over the top in her comments, saying that the singer attacked Rolling Stone and Kim Kardashian with "a disgusting choice of words".
This is not the first time O'Connor has caused controversy, Just Jared points out. Back in 2013, she wrote a series of open letters to Miley Cyrus warning the twerking singer against "prostituting" herself.
Some commentators cheered her forthright stance. "God bless Sinead O'Connor," writes Teo Bugbee on the Daily Beast.
It's not that Bugbee agrees with her, however. "O'Connor is kind of barking up the wrong tree when it comes to the world Miley Cyrus and Kim Kardashian have come to represent," she says, arguing that "the use of female sexuality... [has] become a viable means for women artists to assert their agency".
What is important, says Bugbee, is that O'Connor is "righteously true to herself". Even when you can't agree with what she has to say, Bugbee explains, you can trust her honesty. In the age of the publicist, the manager and the official press release, "let's raise a pint of Guinness to the world's most unapologetic pop star".
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