I never thought I’d be writing about Irish singer Sinéad O’Connor on this blog. And I definitely never anticipated writing about her twice in the space of one week. Yet here we are.

On Monday morning, I reported on how she’d announced her retirement from music over the weekend – for the third time. My post noted that she had announced this at least twice in the past. And sure enough, this “retirement” lasted even less time than the previous two.

A hysterical, obscenity laden statement has been issued by O’Connor explaining what’s been going on, but the truth can be found in what she did not say. According to The Guardian:

“O’Connor said that media had been asked to be sensitive and not ask about child abuse or ‘dig deep into painful s**t about mental health which would be traumatising for me to have to think about’ during interviews to promote Rememberings.”

In other words, O’Connor’s publicist told the press only to ask questions about the book – and then only the questions that O’Connor liked. This is exactly the same trick that dance music artists, labels and festivals use on the specialist press – denying access and threatening reprisals if they don’t do what they’re told.

Whilst I’m sympathetic to the fact O’Connor has mental health difficulties and is perfectly open about it, this is a two-way street. The press has no right to tell O’Connor what to say and think – and the same applies in reverse.

And if your book details the aforementioned triggers that you find difficult to talk about, don’t be surprised when the press ask you about it…