Thread by @audrawilliams

In 1992, Sinead O'Connor ripped up a picture of the Pope on live television, in protest of the rampant child sexual abuse the Catholic Church was actively covering up.

Also! Watch the whole thing here:

And was mixed up about one part: Andrew Dice Clay was the host of SNL the night that Sinead tore up the picture. She (and other women in the cast) refused to be in skits with him. It was Joe Pesci who -- when hosting the show a week later -- said he wanted to give her a slap.

I mean *I* was mixed up haha. I was just thinking that I had gotten through this whole thing without any typos. I flew too close to the sun.

@SoYeahSo @MegaTechCorp82 @kgaffney35 Three high profile men (one of whom was later convicted of sexual abuse against children himself) reacted by wishing violence against Sinead. That is relevant.

For everyone in my mentions saying this didn't happen the way I said, here is Kris Kristofferson telling the story. Believe him or don't, I guess!

Other folks are saying what Sinead did wasn't about child abuse? I don't know what to tell you. On both shows, she performed Bob Marley's 'War', but added in lyrics about child abuse. She also gave this interview shortly after.

Just tagging in @ericjedelstein to make sure you see this lovely video! (Apologies if you already liked or retweeted it, my mentions are a bit hectic right now.)

I also feel the need to clarify that I am not shilling for Gillette? I just stated the inarguable fact that their recent ad has both started and furthered conversations on the topic of toxic masculinity. I think @elamin88's take is perfect:

https://twitter.com/elamin88/status/1085225611885461504

Good morning! I have a lot of DMs right now and my mentions are quite hectic so I am really behind on getting back to folks who have meaningfully reached out. Plz know that I am not intentionally ignoring you. Except this guy, who I am absolutely intentionally ignoring.

Um a lot of people are insisting Sinead couldn't have been talking about the sexual abuse that was happening in the church because that story "hadn't broken yet"? It baffles me. A story doesn't have to have broken for people to know it is happening. Also: https://t.co/GiYUjZH3pien.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_…

Hey Twitter, look at this lovely thing that is about to happen! Huge thanks to Steve Bing and @joshuarolson. <3 <3 <3

Three months ago I decided to tell Twitter my favourite story of solidarity: Kris Kristofferson standing with Sinead O'Connor while the world was against her. That's maybe why you are following me! Those tweets found their way to Kris, and tonight I got to thank him in person. <3

If there is one thing I have learned during my time on Twitter, it is that every single person loves Kris Kristofferson. <3

Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji, Shuhada' Sadaqat. 💔 What a loss to this world.

And now Rest in Peace Kris Kristofferson. More people read this Twitter thread than anything else I am likely to ever write in my entire life. And that's just fine with me.

It was such a thrill to watch it resonate with so many, and I'm so glad I got to meet you as a result. ♥️