Sinead O'Connor's recent spat with Miley Cyrus dominated the entertainment headlines last month but Sinead has revealed that she welcomed the publicity because it put mental health issues firmly in the spotlight - even if it did lead to her receiving a slew of hate mail from Miley fans the world over.
You'll no doubt recall that Sinead wrote a series of open letters to Miley, who she feels is being taken advantage of by a male-dominated music industry, particularly in her skin-laden 'Wrecking Ball' music video. The pair swapped retorts back and forth via social media, with Cyrus on the receiving end of heavy criticism from mental health charities for apparently making fun of O'Connor's past issues with psychological illness.
Speaking to Time Magazine, O'Connor maintained that the discussion could only serve to highlight the issue of mental health, even if the back-and-forth did lead to her receiving a slew of messages from Cyrus fans urging her to commit suicide.
"I think what was more important really that came out of the Miley thing was this issue of being able to conversate about how mental health and human rights is now", O'Connor said. "I think she was actually very helpful. I think the two of us, without meaning to, did quite a good job in terms of creating a conversation about something really, really important."
Miley has been courting controversy lately and was criticised by anti-drugs campaigners after apparently smoking a joint onstage at the EMAs in Amsterdam, in a move deemed "irresponsible" by David Rayes, spokesperson for the National Drug Prevention Alliance.
"The people she is targeting with her performance are much more vulnerable to the effects of marijuana. We know from research that cannabis use has more of an effect on the younger brain than the brain of a more mature person."
