Sinead O’Connor, the Irish singer perhaps best known for the Prince-penned “Nothing Compares 2 U,” was reported missing earlier today by the Wilmette Police Department in Illinois. She’s now been reported as found, and is safe.
O’Connor had been living in the Chicago suburb, and, on Sunday, she reportedly went out on a bike ride in the early morning. Until today, she had been reported as missing and “possibly suicidal.” She was found Monday afternoon, reportedly unharmed. She had apparently been staying with friends, which explains her absence from her home.
That O’Connor was reported as missing in the first place — and the media’s general reaction to that report — is fairly representative of O’Connor’s presence in the media for the past few years. Most recently, O’Connor has been making headlines in relation to the death of Prince: she accused Arsenio Hall of providing drugs to the “Purple Rain” singer, who passed away on April 21 of this year. Hall responded by suing her for libel. O’Connor replied by saying she was “amused” and looked forward to everything playing out in a court.
In the past, O’Connor has talked about her mental health, as well as the climate of those who face mental health issues — especially females. She made the prescient comment that, if a woman has been forthcoming with details of her struggles with mental health issues, suddenly any out-of-the-norm statements or behavior are immediately colored by that, and the public assumes she’s speaking through that mental illness.