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Politico
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How the National Portrait Gallery got tangled in MAGA politics
EYE OF THE BEHOLDER — Amy Sherald, the distinctive artist renowned for her stylized portraits of Black Americans like former first lady Michelle Obama, pulled her upcoming exhibition, 'American Sublime,' from the National Portrait Gallery last week, saying that the museum feared her painting of a trans woman posed like the Statue of Liberty could offend President Donald Trump. The museum maintains that it never suggested removing the painting, but rather that it pitched an accompanying video to 'contextualize the piece.' In any case, the show's D.C. run is over before it began. Sherald's withdrawal highlights the Trump administration's pressure campaign on the Smithsonian's various museums, following a March executive order scrutinizing 'improper ideology' in its displays and the recent ouster of the gallery's longtime director, whom Trump accused of supporting 'DEI' and attempted to fire — a decision the Smithsonian challenged, saying he lacked the authority to make it — before she announced her resignation. But it also underscores something that predates Trump, a tension at the heart of the Portrait Gallery's mission that has ensnared it in controversy since long before MAGA was a glimmer in the president's eye. On the one hand, it's an arts institution, ostensibly dedicated to freedom of expression, aesthetic innovation and elevating the country's artistic genius. On the other, it's a government organization beholden to the whims of politics, the sensibilities of elected officials and the tastes of voters, many of whom aren't exactly fans of cutting-edge art. For politicians, the provocations and ambiguities of the avant-garde can be a political liability — or a cudgel with which to batter the other side. It was 2010 when the Portrait Gallery walked face-first into one of the most notorious censorship scandals to hit the fine art world in recent American history. The brouhaha surrounded a 1980 video piece titled, A Fire in My Belly, by the late writer and artist David Wojnarowicz, a polemic and highly celebrated contemporary of East Village luminaries like Keith Haring, Nan Goldin and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Wojnarowicz died of AIDS at age 37 in 1992, but the piece appeared in a 2010 show that the Portrait Gallery called 'the first major museum exhibition to focus on sexual difference in the making of modern American portraiture,' drawing the ire of the Catholic League and House Republicans, who seized on an 11-second shot of ants crawling over a crucifix. For the conservative gay writer Andrew Sullivan, himself a Christian, there was no mistaking the work as blasphemous. 'To see a rejected Jesus left on the cross and on the ground to be covered by ants, is, in this context, clearly neither offensive nor heresy,' he wrote at the time. But to the Catholic League's Bill Donohue, it was 'hate speech,' and congressional Republicans like House Speaker John Boehner and Virginia Rep. Eric Cantor leapt at the whiff of culture war. They threatened to cut the gallery's federal funding, calling the video offensive to Christians and casting it as a misuse of taxpayer dollars — even though the gallery did not use public funds to stage the exhibition, which was privately funded. The secretary of the Smithsonian, G. Wayne Clough, unilaterally caved to the censorship demands — a decision that proved to be a lose-lose, inviting condemnation from free-speech advocates but failing to fully alleviate pressure from the right, which continued to advocate for funding cuts and the takedown of the entire exhibition. (Clough, who left the role in 2014, defended his choice to censor the show, saying it allowed the rest of the exhibit to stand.) The gallery's commissioner, James T. Bartlett, resigned in protest. And the Andy Warhol Foundation, which had backed the show with grant money, vowed to never support the gallery again — a pledge it upholds to this day. The censorship scandal followed debates from the late 1980s and early 1990s over the National Endowment for the Arts and its support of artists who explored queerness, sexuality or religious imagery. In 1989, Goldin staged a show in New York about the AIDS crisis that included in its catalogue an essay by Wojnarowicz excoriating religious and political leaders for fomenting homophobia and exacerbating the epidemic. In response, the NEA withdrew a grant it had awarded the exhibition. (That money was later partially restored, under the condition that it would not support the catalogue.) The American Family Association, a champion of the Christian right, cropped images of sex acts from Wojnarowicz's artworks into mailers that it circulated around the country with headlines like, 'Your tax dollars help pay for these 'works of art.'' Wojnarowicz won a lawsuit against the group in New York for violating his copyright and misrepresenting his work, though he was awarded only $1 in damages. The backlash to the NEA funding of Wojnarowicz's art was part of a broader uproar over the sexually explicit photography of Robert Mapplethorpe and the accusations of blasphemy levied against Andres Serrano's 'Piss Christ,' a darkly enigmatic photograph of a crucifix submerged in the artist's urine. All of which presaged the gallery's apparent skittishness over Sherald's portrait of a Black, transgender Statue of Liberty today. But the latest dustup also breaches into new censorious territory. The political arguments over artists in the past, while often explicitly homophobic, largely focused on the supposed obscenity or blasphemy of their work — nudity, sex, religious iconography. However disingenuous, these criticisms appealed to deeply held discomfort in straight society surrounding depictions of sex — and particularly gay sex — as well as Christian symbols. Opposition to Sherald's painting, however, dispenses with these critiques altogether. You'll find no genitalia or supposedly profaned crosses in the portrait. It is a decidedly G-rated image. Were it not for the hackneyed title, Trans Forming Liberty, you could easily miss the transness of its subject entirely. Frankly, it's a boring painting — obvious, even ham-fisted in its invocation of a civic image, perhaps, but nothing remotely approaching the frankness or transgression of Wojnarowicz, Mapplethorpe and Serrano. Nonetheless, the White House celebrated the cancellation, with one official telling The New York Times it was a 'principled and necessary step.' In a sense, then, Sherald gave Trump exactly what he wanted, complying with a demand before it came — just as law firms and media organizations that bent the knee to the administration have been accused of 'anticipatory compliance.' The Trump administration has been successful in erasing trans people from government websites and documents. Now, apparently, it's winning in galleries, too. Ironically, that may increase the visibility of the portrait, which most of the country would not have seen if it hadn't splashed onto their phones along with the headlines. That was certainly the case for Wojnarowicz. After the gallery pulled his video, the media attention posthumously catapulted his name beyond the niche world of fine art and back into the political mainstream. The Museum of Modern Art and the New Museum, among others, screened the censored video. And in 2018, the Whitney staged a landmark retrospective of his work called History Keeps Me Awake at Night that effectively canonized Wojnarowicz, who has surged in popularity among young queer creatives. 'The most powerful moments of the exhibition have a moral grandeur rare in contemporary art,' wrote Philip Kennicott of the retrospective in the Washington Post, 'as it becomes clear that not only was Wojnarowicz fully cognizant of the tools being used against him, he made the onslaught the subject of his work.' Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at nightly@ Or contact tonight's author at dylonjones@ or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @tdylon_jones. What'd I Miss? — Trump: Epstein 'stole' young woman from Mar-a-Lago spa: President Donald Trump said today that Jeffrey Epstein 'stole' young women from his Mar-a-Lago beach club spa decades ago. 'People were taken out of the spa, hired by him. In other words, gone,' Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. 'When I heard about it, I told him, I said, listen, we don't want you taking our people, whether it's spa or not spa … And he was fine. And not too long after he did it again. And I said outta here.' The anecdote comes a day after Trump said that he severed ties with the disgraced financier and child sex offender, who died in prison by suicide six years ago, after 'he stole people who worked for me.' — Trump administration moves to repeal climate 'holy grail': The Environmental Protection Agency proposed repealing the federal government's bedrock scientific declaration on the dangers of greenhouse gases — in a legally risky move by President Donald Trump's administration to undo regulations on fossil fuels. The so-called endangerment finding, which the Obama administration issued in 2009, laid out a comprehensive case for how human emissions of carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases threaten human health and welfare. Rescinding it undermines the legal basis for most EPA climate rules, including limits on power plant and vehicle emissions. The elimination of the finding is sure to draw legal challenges from blue states and environmental groups, who note that decades of scientific research backs up the conclusion that planet-warming pollution from the use of oil, natural gas and coal are altering the Earth's climate. — Trump fired court-appointed Habba replacement, records show: President Donald Trump moved to fire the career federal prosecutor New Jersey judges picked to be acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey, according to court records filed today. The Department of Justice revealed Trump's decision in an email filed with a federal judge in Pennsylvania, who is preparing to weigh in on an escalating fight between the Trump administration and the federal bench in New Jersey. The filing underscores Trump's direct involvement in a bid to keep his former personal attorney, Alina Habba, as New Jersey's top federal prosecutor, despite the expiration last week of her 120-day tenure as interim U.S. attorney and New Jersey judges selecting prosecutor Desiree Leigh Grace to serve in Habba's place. — Trump says 10-day deadline for Russia to broker ceasefire in Ukraine starts today: President Donald Trump said today that Russia must agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine by Aug. 8 or risk sanctions, accelerating a deadline that was previously up in the air. Trump in July set a 50-day deadline for the agreement with Ukraine, threatening tariffs if a deal was not made. On Monday, during his meeting with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, he said he was shortening this deadline to '10 or 12 days.' Aboard Air Force One on today, on his way back to the United States, Trump said the clock was ticking and it was '10 days from today.' 'And then we're going to put on tariffs,' Trump added, 'and I don't know if it's going to affect Russia, because he wants to, obviously, probably keep the war going.' — Senate Banking advances first large, bipartisan housing package in a decade: The Senate Banking Committee unanimously advanced landmark housing legislation today, marking a rare area of overwhelming bipartisanship in a divided Congress. The Renewing Opportunity in the American Dream to Housing Act of 2025, sponsored by Chair Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and ranking member Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), includes proposals that aim to expand and preserve the housing supply, improve housing affordability and access, advance accountability and fiscal responsibility, and improve oversight and program integrity. — Democrats sue over efforts to defund Planned Parenthood: California Attorney General Rob Bonta and 22 other Democratic attorneys general and governors are suing the Trump administration over a bid to strip federal funds from Planned Parenthood clinics. 'We need to just call it what it is: punishment for Planned Parenthood's constitutionally protected advocacy for abortion,' Bonta said at a press conference Tuesday morning. Congressional Republicans have wanted to cut funding to Planned Parenthood since Trump's first term. If they're successful, about 200 of the 600 clinics the nonprofit operates around the country could close, with over half of them in California. AROUND THE WORLD U.K. TO RECOGNIZE PALESTINIAN STATE — Keir Starmer has committed to recognizing a Palestinian state ahead of September's United Nations General Assembly, Downing Street announced today. The British prime minister told a special meeting of his Cabinet that 'now was the right time to move this position forward' because of the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza and the diminishing prospects of a peace process. He said that the U.K. will recognize a Palestinian state in September unless the Israeli government takes 'substantive steps' to end the crisis in Gaza and commits to a long-term peace process that delivers a two-state solution. Israel swiftly dismissed the move as a 'reward for Hamas.' EU CONSIDERS PENALTIES — European Union countries are moving toward agreeing a plan to punish Israel over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza but stopped short of triggering the penalty at a meeting in Brussels today. The European Commission has proposed partially suspending Israel's association agreement with the EU, to curtail the country's access to a key research and development program for start-ups. The plan comes in response to a Commission review that found Israel was in breach of its human-rights obligations under the terms of the deal. EU countries' ambassadors discussed the Commission's proposal at a meeting today but there was no qualified majority in favor of pressing ahead with it now, according to three diplomats speaking to POLITICO on condition of anonymity because the matter is sensitive. Nightly Number RADAR SWEEP DRESSING THE PART — If you go to a Pitbull concert these days, you'll likely find yourself in a sea of fans wearing bald caps, suits and fake goatees, mimicking the artist's signature look. Fans dressing up like musicians — parkas for Oasis, cowboy boots and hats for Beyoncé, feather boas for Harry Styles — has become a key part of the concert-going experience since the pandemic. Expense and hard to get concert tickets have turned shows into an occasion to go all out, and some artists have used fans' desire to dress like them to build community and expand their reach with fashion and brand deals. The Economist reports on this new era in concert going. Parting Image Jacqueline Munis contributed to this newsletter. Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here.
Chicago Tribune
08-06-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Injured pitcher Cooper Eggert solidifies lineup at first base as Providence routs Lincoln-Way East. ‘Juiced us up.'
For a short period of time, Providence's Cooper Eggert said he felt sorry for himself. The senior pitcher was told by three doctors — including an orthopedic surgeon for the Cincinnati Reds – that he needed Tommy John surgery after injuring his elbow April 24 against Marist. 'When I found out from the third doctor that I'm going to need surgery, I went through a point in my head where I was struggling with it,' Eggert said. 'I felt bad through it.' Eggert snapped out of his sullen mood when Scott Mensik, his former coach with the Mokena Blaze, gave him some inspirational words to live by. 'He said, 'You can't look in the past and you can't do anything about it — just go out there, win another ring.'' Eggert said. That won't happen with Eggert on the mound. But after a stint as the team's designated hitter, he's now manning first base and helping the Celtics defensively and at the plate. His performance Saturday featured a bases-loaded triple in the second inning that sparked Providence to a 12-0 rout of Lincoln-Way East in the Class 4A Lincoln-Way West Sectional championship game in New Lenox. Eggert drove in four runs for Providence (27-12), which will play at 7:30 p.m. Monday against Catholic League rival Brother Rice (36-3) in the Crestwood Supersectional at Ozinga Field. 'That hit by Cooper — that was huge,' Providence coach Mark Smith said of Eggert, who has committed to SIU Edwardsville. 'It gave us a little bit of a cushion.' Cincinnati commit Enzo Infelise, Declan Kane, Dominik Alberico and Blake Jenner each had two hits. Minnesota recruit Nate O'Donnell and Alberico combined for the shutout, striking out eight. Jake Newman led Lincoln-Way East (28-11) with two hits. Senior left-hander Jack Bauer, an MLB prospect who recently decommitted from Virginia, gave up six runs in an inning-plus of action. Bauer, who made national headlines for throwing 102 mph earlier in the spring, has been on a strict pitch count this season. He threw 35 pitches in the first inning and finished with 53. 'We spent an hour taking hacks off the machine at 100 mph,' Eggert said of Friday night's practice session. 'It was hard. But the plan was to make him throw strikes. We heard about his pitch count, and if we got it up in the first inning, he would be taken out soon.' 'Bauer is special — really special,' Smith said. 'But our kids had great, competitive at-bats.' It allowed Providence to earn the 13th sectional title in program history. Eggert, meanwhile, has surgery scheduled with Timothy Kremchek, a longtime doctor for the Reds, after the playoffs on June 17. He's also prepared for a redshirt season in college. Still, Eggert said he's been enjoying his time at first base. And Smith likes having him in the lineup. 'He's had kind of a rough senior year,' Smith said of Eggert. 'He started out with a hamstring injury and missed the first couple of games. But this injury really hit this team hard. 'This is a very close-knit team. There are 20 seniors on this team out of 24. When one goes down, they all felt it, and it took us a while to get over that. When he came back, it just juiced us up a bit.' Count O'Donnell as one of the Celtics who is happy to have Eggert around. And then some. 'He's had a lot of ups and downs, and an injury like that gets in your head and can hurt your mindset,' O'Donnell said of Eggert. 'For him to come back and play first base for us is huge.'
Chicago Tribune
05-06-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Eastern Michigan-bound Aidan Nohava doubles to fuel Brother Rice's sectional rally. A green light? ‘I've got you.'
Brother Rice's Aidan Nohava lit up when he saw the coach's sign giving him the green light. The senior first baseman played out the range of scenarios in his head with a runner in scoring position, especially with Illinois State recruit Jackson Natanek following him in the batting order. 'I just wanted to put the ball in play and get the runner over or score him in the best case,' said Nohava, who's committed to Eastern Michigan. 'I knew Jackson was right behind me. 'We looked at each other and we each said that I've got you and you got me.' It all added up to success Wednesday afternoon as Nohava nailed a game-tying double and then scored on Natanek's single as the Crusaders walked off a 2-1 win over Oak Park-River Forest in a Class 4A Reavis Sectional semifinal at Triton College in River Grove. Sophomore pitcher Brady Cunningham led off the seventh inning with a double for top-seeded Brother Rice (34-3), which advanced to play at 11 a.m. Saturday for the sectional title against Catholic League rival Mount Carmel (25-13), a 6-1 semifinal winner over Nazareth. The Crusaders' quest for a third state appearance in four years appeared in peril when they trailed 1-0 heading into their final at-bat, but coach Sean McBride wasn't playing the percentages. He allowed Nohava to let loose. 'We're playing to win and Aidan's our cleanup hitter for a reason,' McBride said of giving him that go-ahead. 'I thought he had two really good swings earlier in the game and just missed. 'He's a senior. He's been through this. I knew he'd get a good barrel on the ball.' True to form, Nohava drilled a second-pitch fastball down the left field line. 'They threw me fastballs all days and everything was inside,' he said. 'I knew they weren't going to switch from that. The previous pitch was also a fastball, so I knew exactly where it was.' Natanek, who earned the win with three strikeouts in an inning of relief, typically starts next to Nohava at second base. 'We've been playing in the infield together since my sophomore year and I knew he would pick me up there,' Natanek said. 'He's the best teammate you could ask for. 'He'd pick me up at 3 o'clock in the morning if necessary. I'd trust my life with him.' Two years ago as a sophomore, Nohava also was a starter as Brother Rice reached the state championship game. No moment is ever too big. 'All of the seniors have played in a game like this,' he said. 'Sophomore year in the supersectional, we had a one-run game. I try to have as much fun as I can. 'Baseball is a tough game. I just want to win for my team and for the guys behind me.' Nohava, who's hitting .316, has totaled 31 hits, five homers and 32 RBIs. An only child, he picked up the game when his parents started him in youth baseball. 'My parents put me around great people who helped me get good at the game,' he said. 'I realized then that the game was a lot of fun, I was good at it and just wanted to keep rolling.' His favorite activity outside of baseball is fishing. It fits his quiet nature but also determination. 'Growing up, I never had battles with siblings, so I just had to learn how to be competitive and get good at stuff,' Nohava said. 'I started watching YouTube videos about fishing. 'I just felt like it was something I wanted to do. I was out yesterday and caught a couple of fish.' Now, he has another memory that will last forever. 'This is one of the most important wins I've ever been a part of,' Nohava said. 'This could be my last pitch, my last game. I'm a captain, and (Wednesday) is going to sit heavy with me.'
Newsweek
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
Catholic League Tells Washington to Adopt Church's Law
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Catholic League President William A. Donohue has written to Washington state Senator Noel Frame, urging the state to "follow Canon law" on assisted dying. The letter followed Frame's suggestion that the church could "change their rules" to allow priests to disclose any allegations of child abuse heard during confession to the relevant authorities. Newsweek contacted the Catholic League and the state senator for comment on Thursday via email outside regular office hours. Why It Matters Earlier this month, the state of Washington passed a law requiring clergy to report any suspected child abuse they learn of during confession, a requirement they were previously exempt from for religious reasons. In response, the Archdiocese of Seattle said, "Catholic clergy may not violate the seal of confession—or they will be excommunicated from the Church." What To Know On Tuesday, the Catholic League published the letter Donohue sent to Frame under the title "Washington State Should Adopt Canon Law." In his letter, Donohue cited an interview Frame did with NPR's Dave Miller earlier this month, in which she suggested church law could be amended to match state law. "I am reminded that Canon law has changed many times over the years in the Catholic faith and there's nothing to say they cannot change their rules to allow the reporting of real time abuse and neglect of children. That is within their power to change and I think they should so," Frame said. Donohue wrote in response: "Funny thing is I feel the same way about your state legalizing assisted suicide. Except I would recommend that state law follow Canon law. We the Catholic Church have a theological purpose that is to protect the vulnerable from assisted suicide and that is why state legislators should choose to follow Canon law to protect such persons, as we do not want to be complicit in killing them." The sun rising behind a stone cross atop the historic Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The sun rising behind a stone cross atop the historic Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Robert Alexander/GETTY The Catholic League president added: "I am reminded that state law has changed many times over the years in secular society and there's nothing to say they cannot change their rules to follow Canon law and put an end to assisted suicide. That is within their power to change and I think they should do so." The Washington Death With Dignity Act became law in 2008, allowing "some terminally ill patients" in the state to ask for "lethal doses of medication" from health care providers. In April 2023, then-Governor Jay Inslee approved a law that sought to reduce the wait time between when a patient asked for life-ending treatment and when they received it. Frame also told NPR, "We the state of Washington have a secular legislative purpose that is to protect children from abuse and neglect and if faith communities choose through their rules not to protect children from abuse and neglect, we the state are choosing not to be complicit in that choice by their rules." Donohue responded in his letter: "You do not cite one instance where any child has ever suffered abuse or neglect, in any state, because a priest chooses not to disclose what he has learned in the confessional. That's largely because molesters tend not to be the kind of persons who like to 'fess up.' In other words, your bill is only tangentially related to this issue." What People Are Saying Anthea Butler, the chair of the department of Religious Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, previously told Newsweek: "This is about 'the seal of the confessional.' That is, the rule that when a priest hears a confession, it cannot be shared. If it is shared, it's breaking Canon Law. A priest can be excommunicated for breaking the seal of the confessional. "The situation, which the Trump administration is looking at, is interesting because there has always been this collision between the law of the local, state and national level and some aspects of canon law. Think about this not only on this level, but in issues of other types of transgressions, like murder. Terrible situation, but for the priest, they are subject to canon law." The Washington State Catholic Conference, which represents five Catholic bishops, previously told Newsweek: "The Catholic Church in Washington supported adding clergy as mandatory reporters. We have required clergy to report since at least 2002. The church has made several policy changes over the decades to ensure abuse survivors are supported, prevention is emphasized and suspected abuse is reported. We asked for a limited exception for the time a priest is engaged in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, an exception the majority of states with clergy reporting laws have granted. "The state telling the church to change its centuries of practice in the Sacrament of Reconciliation is exactly the type of government intrusion in religion that the First Amendment protects against. It also ignores the current practices and policies of the church that are successfully helping to prevent abuse and ensure reasonable suspicions of abuse are reported to proper authorities. There are many ways to accomplish the states' goal, which we share, of protecting children, that do not require the state to trample on our rights." What Happens Next The Washington law, which is set to go into effect on July 27, has highlighted the national conversation about the boundaries between church and state. The Justice Department has launched a civil rights investigation into whether the legislation violates the First Amendment right to religious freedom.
Daily Mail
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Bill Maher defends Marjorie Taylor Greene for saying Catholic bishops are 'controlled by Satan'
Bill Maher defended Marjorie Taylor Greene for a statement she made suggesting Catholic bishops were 'controlled by Satan' as he railed against hypocrites in politics lacking principles. The MAGA firebrand had made the remark in a statement responding to Phil Donohue and The Catholic League demanding she be censured for a tweet she sent out after Pope Francis died. 'Today there were major shifts in global leaderships. Evil is being defeated by the hand of God,' she wrote. In a statement responding to demands that she be censured by Congress, she made a statement explaining she was merely criticizing Vatican and Catholic leadership, which she claimed was 'controlled by Satan.' 'It's the church leadership I was referring to when I invoked the devil,' she said, saying she stopped going to mass because she felt she couldn't protect her children from pedophiles. 'Just so we're clear, bishops, when I said 'controlled by Satan,' I wasn't talking about the Catholic Church. I was talking about you.' Liberal comic Maher - a longtime critic of all religions - made a rare effort to defend the Congresswoman in his 'New Rules' segment on Real Time Friday where he decried people shifting their politics based on whoever's espousing their ideas. He cited Democrats who no longer liked Elon Musk or bought Teslas and Republicans who suddenly loved them, as well as liberals who went against reopening schools post-COVID because Donald Trump said it should happen. Maher even went as far as pointing out pro-'Make America Healthy Again' conservatives were once infuriated by Michelle Obama's attempts to improve nutrition standards. When it came to Greene, Maher admitted they were forming an unlikely alliance. 'Now, it would be easy to just make fun of Marjorie Taylor Greene and since this is week 16 of our show and I'm already tired... I think I will.' The comic pointed out Greene's past statements such as 'Jewish space lasers' and once demanding answers from Joe Biden about something on the nonexistent date of June 31. 'So, not a genius,' quipped Maher, before turning to her statement about the Catholic Church, comparing it to the infamous live television performance of singer Sinead O'Connor decades earlier. 'She was talking about the child abuse that's gone on for a thousand years, which is basically the same thing that Sinead O'Connor said in 1992 when she went on SNL and tore up a picture of the Pope.' He pointed out that many liberals and non-religious people thought that it was great the Irish singer made that shocking statement. 'So don't be a hypocrite and that's the challenge, to not automatically rush to the opposite view point, based solely on who said it.' O'Connor, who shot to stardom across the world in 1990 with her heartrending cover of Prince's Nothing Compares 2 U, was performing on Saturday Night Live on October 1992 when she pulled the stunt. The then 26-year-old singer performed an a cappella rendition of Bob Marley's 'War' to bring attention to the issue of child abuse. The artist sang the final refrain 'And we know we shall win/As we are confident in the victory/Of good over evil,' then held up a picture of Pope John Paul II and tore it to pieces right in front of the single camera. O'Connor exclaimed 'fight the real enemy!' while staring down the barrel of the camera before blowing out the surrounding candles on stage and walked off. She had reportedly told NBC, who hosted the show, that she would hold up a picture of a starving child and make a plea to protect the world's most vulnerable kids. However, the singer instead replaced the photograph in order to protest the ongoing issue of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, long before such allegations were widely reported. The performer recalled in her 2021 memoir, Rememberings, the eerie silence she was greeted with after walking off stage: 'When I walk backstage, literally not a human being is in sight' she wrote. 'All doors have closed. Everyone has vanished. Including my own manager, who locks himself in his room for three days and unplugs his phone.' The network was inundated with complaints and calls for days about the broadcast. SNL's show creator Lorne Michaels allowed O'Connor back on stage at the end of the program to wave goodnight to the audience. He later added that O'Connor's action was 'the bravest possible thing she could do.' However, the following week SNL distanced itself from the act by having host Joe Pesci reassemble the photograph and tell the audience that had he been present he would have given the singer 'such a smack'. Several weeks later O'Connor once more sang an a capella version of 'War', this time on stage at Madison Square Garden in New York during a tribute concert to commemorate Bob Dylan's 30th year in music. She was met by a mixture of cheers and boos, but fellow performer Kris Kristofferson emerged from the wings to say 'Don't let the b******s' get you down.' O'Connor faced considerable backlash in the months after her SNL performance. There were protests, death threats, cancelled gigs and even a bulldozer used to flatten a pile of her records in Times Square. Several years later, in 1999, O'Connor caused uproar in Ireland when she became a priestess of the breakaway Latin Tridentine Church - a position that was not recognized by the mainstream Catholic Church. For many years, she called for a full investigation into the extent of the church's role in concealing child abuse by clergy.
