Sinead O'Connor: 'I Must Save the Only Life I Can'

Singer is entering rehab for trauma, addiction
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 11, 2020 1:10 PM CST
Sinead O'Connor Is Going to Rehab for a Year
Sinead O'Connor performs on stage at Akvarium Klub in Budapest, Hungary, Monday, Dec. 9, 2019.   (Marton Monus/MTI via AP)

Sinead O'Connor says she is taking a year off from performing—and it's not because of the pandemic. The Irish singer says she plans to spend a year in rehab to recover from six traumatic years, Fox reports. Next year's shows "are being postponed until 2022 so that I may go into a one year trauma and addiction treatment program because I had a very traumatic six years and this year was the end of it but now recovery starts," O'Connor tweeted Tuesday. "This year I lost someone beloved and [it] has affected me so badly that I became briefly addicted to a drug other than weed," wrote O'Connor, adding that she has been "addicted to weed for 34 years. A lifetime." She also wrote that the music industry is a "very unforgiving place for artists who need to postpone due to emotional or mental health issues."

O'Connor vowed to return with a tour and a new album in 2022, People reports. The 53-year-old said she still plans to release a memoir in 2021. She apologized to fans who had expected to see her next year but urged them to hold on to their tickets. "If I take this time to heal, I will be fit for a lifetime of touring," she said. "If I don't, I won't." She urged agents and promoters to "look into their souls" and support the postponement, but said she was prepared to deal with the consequences. "If taking this step means my career is over then so be it," she wrote. "As Mary Oliver says, I must save the only life I can." (More Sinead O'Connor stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X