Actor and comedian Rob Schneider remembered singer Sinéad O’Connor after her recent passing.
The controversial singer’s past also led Schneider to write a post describing a little Irish history and defending Catholicism Thursday.
Schneider was a cast member for Saturday Night Live (SNL) when O’Connor ripped up a picture of Pope John Paul II after her performance on SNL in 1991. He looked back and said, “I remember the night @SineadOConnor ripped up a picture of the Pope when I was on SNL.”
I remember the night @SineadOConnor ripped up a picture of the Pope when I was on SNL.
— Rob Schneider (@RobSchneider) July 26, 2023
Though I didn’t see it happen.
It was an episode where I was very busy (in a lot of sketches) and there are moves that performers have where they know they can get laughs. Anyway, I was back…
He described how the audience changed after the infamous incident, noting that, “the rest of the night was eerily quiet.”
But he also described how he perceived O’Connor when meeting her after the show.
He said, “she was gentle and lovely and didn’t seem to have a worry about anything.”
“All these years later you realize that fame and all that it comes with is very destructive to gentle souls,” he added.
Schneider soon after shared a post discussing Catholicism due to the responses O’Connor’s passing and her history brought up.
He summarized recent Irish history, “That small complex island that has given so much to world literature and culture yet suffered and were treated so horribly by the Protestant Aristocracy.”
There has been a tremendous amount of discussion about Catholicism on my feed tonight. I defer to Leon Uris and his literary triumph, “Ireland, a terrible beauty.” That small complex island that has given so much to world literature and culture yet suffered and were treated so…
— Rob Schneider (@RobSchneider) July 27, 2023
He referenced author Leon Uris and shared the message of how the Irish were able to persevere due to their faith.
“If it were not for Catholicism and their faith in God, the Irish people would not have survived,” he wrote.
Schneider then told the story of his trip to Ireland and how the people were so polite and the country was so beautiful.
O’Connor was an Irish singer. She experienced many ups and downs throughout her life, per the Associated Press, and her faith journey was long.
She was born Catholic, then became a priestess of the breakaway Latin Tridentine Church in 1991, and converted to Islam before her death.
She was diagnosed with bipolar in 2017, and her son committed suicide last year.
Knowing all this, Schneider had a prayer to offer her in his remembrance post.
He said, “It is my sincere hope that the peace that eluded Sinead in life she can have now, resting in God’s embrace.”
