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Sinead O'Connor warns Miley Cyrus: 'They will prostitute you for all you are worth'

Has O'Connor forgotten that she was once just as controversial?

Liam O'Brien
Wednesday 09 October 2013 11:27 EDT
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Sinead O'Connor is no stranger to controversy, having ripped up a photo of Pope John Paul II on Saturday Night Live in 1992, but more than two decades later it appears the Irish singer is alarmed by today’s most hotly debated pop star, Miley Cyrus.

O'Connor has penned an open letter to the American star after "dodging phone calls from various newspapers" about Cyrus's comparisons between the videos for "Wrecking Ball" and "Nothing Compares 2 U".

Cyrus's openly sexual videos and performances are, according to O'Connor, a measure of how the young singer is being exploited by the music industry, advising her that she is "worth more than your body or your sex appeal".

She wrote: "The music business doesn't give a s*** about you, or any of us. They will prostitute you for all you are worth, and cleverly make you think it's what you wanted… And when you end up in rehab as a result of being prostituted, 'they' will be sunning themselves on their yachts in Antigua, which they bought by selling your body and you will find yourself very alone."

The 1000-word rant continued: "Don't be under any illusions… All of them want you because they're making money off your youth and your beauty… which they could not do except for the fact your youth makes you blind to the evils of show business."

While Miley claimed her look was similar to that of the young O'Connor, the Irish star begged to differ.

"You also said in Rolling Stone that your look is based on mine," O'Connor said.

"The look I chose, I chose on purpose at a time when my record company were encouraging me to do what you have done. I felt I would rather be judged on my talent and not my looks.

"I am happy that I made that choice, not least because I do not find myself on the proverbial rag heap now that I am almost 47 years of age… Which unfortunately many female artists who have based their image around their sexuality end up on when they reach middle age."

Comparisons have been made between "Nothing Compares 2 U" and "Wrecking Ball"
Comparisons have been made between "Nothing Compares 2 U" and "Wrecking Ball" (Vevo)

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