Miley Cyrus’ reaction to criticism of Sinead’s tribute on SNL’s 50th anniversary broadcast

Miley Cyrus is not letting the ‘controversy’ surrounding her tribute to Sinéad O’Connor at the SNL 50th concert affect her, according to a source.

The 32-year-old singer, known for hits like Wrecking Ball, performed a rendition of Sinéad’s cover of the Prince song Nothing Compares 2 U, despite the history of conflict between the two artists.

While many viewers were moved by the moment, some felt it was in bad taste given their tense past.

Some critics argued that the tribute was inappropriate, referencing Sinéad’s controversial act of tearing a photo of the Pope during a previous SNL appearance as a protest against child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.

But according to an insider, Miley has no regrets – despite the mixed reviews.

The insider told DailyMail.com that it was Miley’s ‘idea’ to sing the song and that she knew ‘going into it that it would cause some people to get offended.’

Miley Cyrus is completely unbothered by the ‘controversy’ surrounding her Sinéad O’Connor tribute at the SNL 50th concert on Sunday, a source has revealed

Miley (seen left on SNL on Sunday) took to the stage to cover the late Irish singer’s (right on SNL in 1990) version of the Prince song Nothing Compares 2 U

They added that she ‘believes she killed it’ and that she finds the backlash ‘quite comical.’

‘It was absolutely Miley’s idea to sing Nothing Compares 2 U and she believes she killed it,’ dished the source. 

‘She is aware of the backlash and she knew going into this that it would cause some people to get offended … It is actually quite comical to her.’

Miley was accompanied by acclaimed singer and guitarist Brittany Howard as she sang the song.

She notably did not say anything about Sinéad, whose cover of the Prince track became a worldwide hit in 1990.

‘Miley does not believe that she needs to give credit to Sinéad for a song that was not even hers to begin with,’ continued the insider. 

‘If anything, Miley would have credited Prince who was a huge inspiration for her.’

In the end, the source said the former Hannah Montana star plans to ‘let the chatter bounce off her.’

It came years after the stars became embroiled in a feud – and while many viewers were moved by the moment, some felt it was in bad taste given their tense past. Sinead is seen in 1990

An insider told DailyMail.com that Miley ‘believes she killed it’ and that she finds the backlash ‘quite comical’

After SNL shared a video of the performance to X, it was flooded with negative replies

‘Miley will never apologize for something that she owes no apology for. So, as usual, Miley is going to let this chatter bounce off her,’ they concluded.

‘She believes that she delivered a beautiful performance of a Prince song. She really has no time to dwell on a performance that is over.’

After SNL shared a video of the performance to X, it was flooded with negative replies.

‘I love them but this song is not something Miley should be covering. Would’ve been better just Brittany or not at all,’ one person wrote.

‘This song should not have been sung by Miley,’ agreed another. ‘Should’ve been one of her friends, who really understands the words. That’s my only complaint of the show.’ 

‘Seriously, how dare you?’ asked someone else.

‘They did not do this [song] justice,’ read a fourth tweet. A fifth said, ‘I’m a fan, but this was a disservice.’

Miley and Sinéad, who passed away in July 2023 at age 56 from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and bronchial asthma, publicly came to blows back in 2013.

Back in 2013, Miley told Rolling Stone that the music video for her song Wrecking Ball (left) had been inspired by the visual for Sinéad’s Nothing Compares 2 U (right)

But Sinéad seemed unamused by the tribute, and wrote a scathing letter in which she said she was ‘extremely concerned’ that Miley thought it was ‘cool to be naked in her video’ 

Miley responded by sharing screenshots of past messages that had been posted by Sinéad on X discussing her mental health issues 

At the time, Miley told Rolling Stone that the music video for her song Wrecking Ball – which showed her swinging on a wrecking ball nude – had been inspired by the visual for Sinéad’s Nothing Compares 2 U.

But Sinéad seemed unamused by the tribute, and wrote a scathing letter in which she said she was ‘extremely concerned’ that Miley thought it was ‘cool to be naked in her video.’

‘It is in fact the case that you will obscure your talent by allowing yourself to be pimped, whether it’s the music business or yourself doing the pimping,’ she wrote.

‘Nothing but harm will come in the long run, from allowing yourself to be exploited, and it is absolutely NOT in ANY way an empowerment of yourself or any other young women, for you to send across the message that you are to be valued (even by you) more for your sexual appeal than your obvious talent. 

‘I am happy to hear I am somewhat of a role model for you and I hope that because of that you will pay close attention to what I am telling you.’ 

Sinéad added, ‘This is a dangerous world. We don’t encourage our daughters to walk around naked in it because it makes them prey for animals and less than animals, a distressing majority of whom work in the music industry and its associated media.’

Miley responded by sharing screenshots of past messages that had been posted by Sinéad on X discussing her mental health issues.

‘Before Amanda Bynes… There was…’ she captioned it.

Sinead (seen in 2020) passed away in July 2023 at age 56 from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and bronchial asthma 

Sinéad was famously banned from SNL after she ripped up a photo of the Pope on air in a bid to protest child sexual abuse that occurred in the Catholic church

Miley (seen on SNL this weekend) reflected on the drama in 2023, stating, ‘I [didn’t] expect other women to put me down or turn on me’

Nickelodeon star Amanda famously descended on a downward spiral after her time on the network that included multiple rehab stints and run-ins with the law. 

In 2023, after Sinéad’s death, Miley reflected on the drama during her ABC concert special.

‘I was expecting there to be controversy and backlash [from the Wrecking Ball video], 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 admitted.

‘This is when I’d received an open letter from Sinéad O’Connor, and I had no idea about the fragile mental state that she was in, and I was also only 20 years old, so I could really only wrap my head around mental illness so much.

‘All that I saw was that another woman had told me that this idea was not my idea.’

She added that the incident ‘deeply upset her,’ but concluded on a positive note, stating, ‘God bless Sinéad O’Connor, for real, in all seriousness.’