So when Sinead got on stage on SNL in October of 1992 and tore up a picture of the pope...it pretty much destroyed her career. She, of course, did this in response to allegations of child abuse committed by Catholic priests in Ireland at the time. Do you think Sinead would have gotten an equally hostile response from the public and media if she had done this in 2012 vs. 1992? There have been many more reports of this kind of thing going on since then.

Excellent question.  But I don't have an answer right now  ;D

http://static.nme.com/images/gallery/SineadOConnorPopeGb260411.jpg

Good question!  I think she chose the wrong stage.  Many people didn't understand why she was so angry (I know I didn't).  I think it's fair to assume that people ARE more aware now and this "stunt" would have been better received.

Sinead is Irish, and there has been conflict between Irish Catholics & Protestants for years (everyone knows that). So it was a political statement and she stepped on some toes there.  She tore a photo of the pope and that was a religious statement, and she stepped on some toes there. 

If no one had ever done what she did until yesterday, and she did the same thing, she'd still get a hostile response. I think we are generally more tolerant now in terms of accepting other religions and politics than we were 20 years ago, so the response she'd get might not be as hostile.  :-[

Yeah I was just thinking back in 1992 Ireland was still deep in the Troubles, the first ceasefire agreement wouldn't come until 1994.

I think if it happened today, all the angles would be explored by the Internet and media and people would be more informed on the true meaning. Back then, they just saw her as a psycho tearing up a picture of someone hatefully without knowing the full story, the Internet wasn't really mainstream in 1992 and there wasn't quite as much of an obsession with celebrities.