In her new special, Endless Summer Vacation: Continued (Backyard Sessions), Miley Cyrus reflects on her 2013 feud with Sinéad O’Connor. The dispute between the artists began after Cyrus told Rolling Stone that her “Wrecking Ball” music video was inspired by O’Connor’s iconic “Nothing Compares 2 U” visual. “I wanted it to be tough but really pretty,” Cyrus said, “that’s what Sinéad did with her hair and everything.”
Shortly after the interview was published, O’Connor wrote an open letter to Cyrus. She wrote to the pop star, who was 20 years old at the time, “I am extremely concerned for you that those around you have led you to believe, or encouraged you in your own belief, that it is in any way ‘cool’ to be naked and licking sledgehammers in your videos. It is in fact the case that you will obscure your talent by allowing yourself to be pimped, whether its the music business or yourself doing the pimping.”
Cyrus responded to O’Connor by posting a screenshot of tweets from the Irish musician, making light of O’Connor’s difficulties with mental health.
In the on-camera interview for the new special, Cyrus said, “At the time when I had made ‘Wrecking Ball,’ I was expecting for there to be controversy and backlash, 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 continued:
Cyrus also dedicated her Endless Summer Vacation: Continued (Backyard Sessions) performance of “Wonder Woman” to O’Connor.
Sinéad O’Connor died in July at the age of 56. Tributes to the singer-songwriter poured out from the music community and beyond.