"Disgusted": Sinéad O’Connor’s estate slams Donald Trump for using “Nothing Compares 2 U” at rally

The late singer's estate was outraged by the man she once called the "biblical devil" using the Prince-written song

By Joy Saha

Staff Writer

Published March 4, 2024 4:09PM (EST)

Sinead O'Connor performs in U.K. June 1st, 1990 (Mick Hutson/Redferns/Getty Images)
Sinead O'Connor performs in U.K. June 1st, 1990 (Mick Hutson/Redferns/Getty Images)

The late Sinéad O’Connor’s estate has called out Donald Trump — an individual the acclaimed singer once described as a “biblical devil” — for using her version of “Nothing Compares 2 U” at campaign rallies. Trump recently played the song at events in Maryland and North Carolina in the past week.

In a joint statement to Variety, O’Connor’s estate and label Chrysalis Records said that throughout her life, O’Connor “lived by a fierce moral code defined by honesty, kindness, fairness and decency towards her fellow human beings.” She would have “been disgusted, hurt and insulted to have her work misrepresented in this way.” 

O’Connor’s estate and label demanded that “Donald Trump and his associates desist from using her music immediately.”

The Dublin-born singer died on July 26, 2023 in her southeast London home at the age of 56. London’s Metropolitan Police reported at the time that O'Connor's death was not being treated as suspicious. In January, the Southwark Coroners Court determined that she died of natural causes.

O’Connor attained global stardom amid the 1990s with her rendition of Prince’s mega-ballad “Nothing Compares 2 U,” which spent weeks at No. 1 in the UK. She often spoke publicly about her struggles with mental health, and spotlighted several major issues — like child abuse, women’s rights and organized religion — both on and off stage.

O’Connor isn’t the only musician who has slammed Trump for using their music at political rallies. Earlier this year, Johnny Marr of the Smiths took to X to blast the former president for playing “Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want.”

MORE FROM Joy Saha