Irish singer-songwriter Sinead O'Connor has always been known for more than her successful singing career, never one to back down from expressing her controversial views on everything from religion and war to child abuse.
In a recent interview with Time magazine, O'Connor expressed her disdain for the music business, which she claims is full of "pimps" and "vampires," and touched on how stars like Miley Cyrus (whom she feuded with earlier this fall) and Justin Bieber are being sexually exploited by the industry.
"The music business is corrupt," the 46-year-old star told Time. "It's full of nothing but vampires and pimps. What was more important that came out of the Miley thing was being able to [converse] about mental health and human rights. The two of us, without meaning to, did quite a good job."
Whether it was intentional or not, Cyrus did touch upon issues of mental health by comparing O'Connor to troubled star Amanda Bynes after receiving her first open letter from the singer, and O'Connor then accused her of mocking mental health issues and demanded an apology, which she did not receive even after sending five open letters to the "Wrecking Ball" singer.
"There's a dreadful practice in this country going on at the moment, which is a complete breach of human and civil rights, of paparazzi lynching - that's what I call it - young female celebrities perceived to have a mental illness, trying to get photos of them looking like they're having breakdowns," O'Connor argued to Time. "People who might be vulnerable are not going to seek help in a society where if you're believed to be insane, you're going to get treated like crap."
"As long as you're visually distracted, you're not really listening," she said. "Male artists too. Justin Bieber, he's being sold on his sexuality, but he's too young to even understand what's going on."
Click here to read Sinead O'Connor's full interview with Time magazine.
