Sinéad O’Connor’s heartbreaking last words before death revealed

By
Monica Pop
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The news of the passing of one of the most prominent Irish artists, Sinéad O’Connor, came a little over a year following her son’s passing. O’Connor’s 17-year-old son died of suicide and she was never able to get over the loss.

“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinéad,” her family said in a statement to The Irish Times. “Her family and friends are devastated and have requested privacy at this very difficult time.”

Born in Dublin on December 8, 1966, O’Connor’s upbringing wasn’t an easy one. With a mother who was physically abusive, the singer spent a lifetime being an advocate and raising her voice against children abuse, not wanting a singe child to experience an ordeal similar to what she was forced to endure.

Sinéad O’Connor in the 90s. Credit / Michel Linssen / Redferns / Getty.

Throughout her career, following her huge success which placed her on the pedestal in 1990 with Nothing Compares 2 U, O’Connor raised awareness and spoke openly about her religious journey, activism and mental health struggles.

The controversies surrounding her life started during the time there were rumors of the Catholic Church’s cover-up of sexual abuse cases followed by protests. During an appearance on Saturday Night Live, O’Connor expressed her thoughts over the entire situation in quite a controversial manner, by tearing a photo of Pope John Paul II while singing Bob Marley’s War, telling the audience to “fight the real enemy.”

Her action affected her career, but the singer said she had no regrets. “Everyone wants a pop star, see? But I am a protest singer. I just had stuff to get off my chest. I had no desire for fame,” she wrote in her 2021 memoir Rememberings.

In 2018, O’Connor converted to Islam after practicing Christianity her entire life and even being ordained as a priest in the Irish Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church. She then changed her name to Shuhada’ Davitt.

Shortly before her passing, O’Connor twitted about the heartbreak she experienced because of her son’s passing. Responding to a tweet by the Inspirational Quotes account asking: “Tell me how your life is going using emojis,” the late Irish musician shared 10 crying faces with the hashtag: “lostmy17yrOldSonToSuicidein2022.”

“Been living as undead night creature since,” she wrote in the emotional tweet on July 17. “He was the love of my life, the lamp of my soul. We were one soul in two halves. He was the only person who ever loved me unconditionally.”

She concluded: “I am lost in the bardo without him.”

Rest in peace, Sinéad O’Connor.

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Kate Middleton reveals reason why Prince Louis was left out of family day

By
Monica Pop
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Wimbledon isn’t just one of the greatest tennis tournaments there are that attracts the attention of the entire world, but it’s sort of part of the British tradition. Having said that, it’s not surprising that not only celebrities, but also the royals, never miss the chance to witness the best in the world of tennis compete.

During the final weekend of last year’s tournament, the Prince and Princess of Wales watched the competition,but they weren’t alone. In fact, their eldest so, Prince George accompanied their parents. It was the boy’s first time joining his parents for the great day and seeing his mom handing out the trophy to the winner in several of the classes. This year, Princess Charlotte was given the opportunity to attend Wimbledon, but not her younger brother, Prince Louis, which made him very angry.

Over the last few years, Prince Louis attended many meaningful occasions, including the Platinum Jubilee celebration which honored his now late great-grandmother Queen Elizabeth. During those royal outings, pictures of him doing all kinds of ‘controversial’ things, including pulling funny faces, have entertained the public well. 

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Although he’s much-adored member of the royal family, it’s very unlikely that Louis could ever be a king.

“Louis is quite a handful,” a source said. “William and Kate do their best to teach him how to behave but understand these events are tiresome for a youngster. They are like other parents with young children in this way. It does make them more relatable to the public.

“They gently admonish him when he gets out of hand because he’s got to learn,” the source said of George and Charlotte. “William and Kate know the day will come and making faces won’t be ‘cute.’ Hopefully Louis will grow out of it.”

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However, as much as Louis is loved by the public, Daniela Elser, a royal expert, believes this could harm the young Prince’s future.

As an example, she spoke of the image of Louis printed on a huge flag which was seen in the audience at Glastonbury, one of the biggest music festivals in the world with around 20,000 visitors.

“Put that kid in public, maybe in the vicinity of a military parade or out on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, and the five-year-old will guarantee Fleet Street’s photo editors a cheeky, charming shot,” Elser wrote. “Oh, it’s an adorable image, and you would have to be Cruella de Ville sans Dalmatians not to be thoroughly charmed and delighted by it.

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“But I actually think, looking at that Glasto flag, that we have reached a tipping point – Louis has gone from royal kidlet to pop culture caricature, from child to entertaining character. Except he’s a boy, not a perpetual meme.”

Further, she said she believes that if Louis is continued seen as a funny character, he may easily end up as “another Prince Harry.”

“We owe it to Louis to not make a joke out of him, to not render him a punchline or a cartoonish figure,” Elser explained.

“And if we fail, 30 years from now, it will be him sitting on a couch and pouring out his hurt feelings to Oprah’s hologram.”

Chris Jackson/Getty Images

Now when it comes to this year’s Wimbledon, the youngest Prince was denied attending it. The reason why could be the long hours the matches are usually played or simply because Louis is quite restless.

Speaking to one of the officials before the final began, Kate said Louis had kept a close eye on the Wimbledon tournament and he even practiced being a ball boy.

“It’s Charlotte’s first time, George came last year. They’ve been eagerly watching. Charlotte you’ve been getting to grips with the scoring. Louis was very upset he wasn’t coming today,” Kate said.

In 2019, tennis legend, former Wimbledon winner, and fashion icon Stan Smith gave Louis signed Adidas trainers.

We are sure Prince Louis would be a regular at Wimbledon in the years to come and he, just like his mom and dad, would be aweosme at playing tennis.

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11-year-old daughter of Brad Knighton dies – ‘Our family is still in shock’

By
Monica Pop
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 Olivia Knighton, the 11-year-old daughter of former MSL goalkeeper Brad Knighton, died in a boat accident near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina on July 19.

The South Carolina Department of Natural Resource issued a statement regarding the tragic accident which is still under investigation.

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“Initial information indicates that a 23-foot boat carrying 12 people was traveling on the Intracoastal Waterway in Little River.”

“The boat was rocked by a large wake caused by another boat, resulting in nine of the 12 occupants going overboard,” one of which was an 11-year-old girl who was “struck by a propeller and later died of her injuries.”

“Nobody else was injured in the incident,” the statement continued.

They are still trying to piece together what truly happened.

Brad Knighton posted a brief statement on social media, saying, “There are no words to express the depth of our profound grief and sorrow in this moment.”

“Our family is still in shock at the sudden and tragic loss of our beautiful and brilliant daughter, Olivia, to an unfortunate boating accident yesterday,” he continued. “We are all still in disbelief that her bright and pure light was taken away from us so suddenly.”

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Knighton retired in January 2023 after 16 seasons, 12 of which he spent playing for the New England Revolution.

“Olivia loved soccer and the Revolution with all of her heart,” he added. “Our family always felt your support behind us during my career. We will need you and your prayers with us now more than ever.”

New England Revolution also displayed a photo of Olivia Knighton on the jumbotron during their match to honor her life. “Olivia was a bright and shining light who was a beloved presence around the Revolution throughout her entire life, always bringing a warm smile and laugh to Gillette Stadium and our training facility when she would visit,” the team wrote.

Following his retirement, Knighton posted a heartfelt message thanking his family for their support throughout his very successful career during which he ranked high on the club’s all-time leaderboard for goals against average, save percentage, and winning percentage in 52 matches.

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“To my children Olivia, Owen, and Brooks, I’m so glad you have been able to be a part of this journey. Knowing you were standing there and cheering me on every day gave me the strength and belief to reach a potential I never knew was there,” he wrote.

Rest in peace, Olivia.

Our hearts go out to the grieving family.

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Miranda Lambert stops another concert and finally responds to the ‘selfie backlash’

By
Monica Pop
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Her ‘bad girl’ image made her a fan favorite, but it seems like singer Miranda Lambert feels zero remorse for embarrassing her fans…yet again.

During a performance at Las Vegas, where she has a residency slot, Lambert called out a group of fans because they were taking a selfie as she started performing her song Tin Man. Apparently, she found that disrespectful so she stopped the song after a few tunes and addressed the girls, which caused mixed emotions at the rest of the audience.  “I’m gonna stop right here for a second… These girls are worried about their selfie and not listening to the song. It’s p***ing me off a little bit,” she said as she pointed to the crowd.

Some of the people in attendance showed their support and saluted the singer while others didn’t like her comment and left the place as a sign of protest. As expected, the online community shared their opinions, which were divided.

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Days after this performance, Lambert stopped the next concert as well, this time because she spotted a fan wearing a T-shirt that read, “Shoot tequila, not selfies.” Apparently, Lambert liked what she saw so she commented, “Her shirt says, ‘Shoot tequila, not selfies.’ She did it, I didn’t!”

This comment made some of her fans even angrier than before as they believed she addressed the backlash she faced in a completely wrong manner.

“Wow! Can’t believe this is her response to her rudeness,” one person wrote.

“Way to embarrass and shame your loyal fans who adore you,” one Twitter users wrote. “She could’ve poked fun and posed in the selfie and then encouraged them to be in the moment after that. Not cool.”

“Going to a concert is about creating an experience and a memory. If someone wants to take a picture to document that memory, they should be able to,” another Twitter user added.

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The woman who was called out about taking a selfie shared the photo she took along with the caption, “It was 30 seconds at most,” referring to the time she and her friends spent on taking it and added that they “took the picture quickly and were going to sit back down.”

The woman, Adela Calin, said she was totally “appalled” when Lambert embarrassed them in front of everyone present.

“It felt like I was back at school with the teacher scolding me for doing something wrong and telling me to sit down back in my place,” she said. “… I feel like she was determined to make us look like we were young, immature and vain. But we were just grown women in our 30s to 60s trying to take a picture.”

What are your thoughts on this?

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Sinéad O’Connor, acclaimed and controversial Irish singer of ‘Nothing Compares 2 U,’ dead at 56

By
Monica Pop
-

Sinéad O’Connor, Irish singer and activist, has died at the age of 56. O’Connor rose to worldwide fame with her single Nothing Compares 2 U, released in 1990.

“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinéad,” her family said in a statement to The Irish Times. “Her family and friends are devastated and have requested privacy at this very difficult time.”

Born in Dublin on December 8, 1966, O’Connor’s upbringing wasn’t an easy one. With a mother who was physically abusive, the singer spent a lifetime being an advocate and raising her voice against children abuse, not wanting a singe child to experience an ordeal similar to what she was forced to endure.

NETHERLANDS – JANUARY 01: Photo of Sinead O’CONNOR (Photo by Michel Linssen/Redferns)

O’Connor realized that she had a gift for music at the age of 15, which was also the period of her life when she was placed in an asylum for shoplifting and truancy issues.

Five years later, at the age of 20, she recorded her first album, The Lion and the Cobra, which earned her a Grammy nomination.

The album was highly praised, placing O’Connor on the pedestal, where she remained most of her life which was filled with troubles and controversies. Slant Magazine and Pitchfork both listed it as one of the best albums of the 1980s. “One of the most electrifying debuts in rock history” Slant wrote. “Themes of patriotism, sexuality, Catholicism, and social oppression set the stage for a career marked by a resolute sense of independence,” Pitchfork’s critics said of the album.

Matteo Chinellato / Shutterstock.com

Having her head shaved, O’Connor sometimes experienced criticism simply because she didn’t fit the standards of what a woman should look like but it was an assertion against traditional views of women according to the singer herself.

O’Connor released her second album, I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got, in 1990. The album included her cover of Prince’s Nothing Compares 2 U, her most famous and highest-charting recording.

Wikimedia Commons

The controversies surrounding her life started during the time there were rumors of the Catholic Church’s cover-up of sexual abuse cases followed by protests. During an appearance on Saturday Night Live, O’Connor expressed her thoughts over the entire situation in quite a controversial manner, by tearing a photo of Pope John Paul II while singing Bob Marley’s War, telling the audience to “fight the real enemy.”

Her action affected her career, but the singer said she had no regrets. “Everyone wants a pop star, see? But I am a protest singer. I just had stuff to get off my chest. I had no desire for fame,” she wrote in her 2021 memoir Rememberings.

In 2018, O’Connor converted to Islam after practicing Christianity her entire life and even being ordained as a priest in the Irish Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church. She then changed her name to Shuhada’ Davitt.

Over the years, she struggled with mental health issues and even tried to take her own life when she was 33, as she told Oprah. O’Connor was diagnosed with complex post-traumatic stress disorder and borderline personality disorder.

18 months before her passing, O’Connor lost her son to suicide. Shane was 17 years old when he took his own life leaving his mother desperate and mourning his tragic loss.

“There will never be anything to sing about again,” she said following his passing, canceling her tour and postponing her new album.

Taoiseach (Irish PM) Leo Varadkar said her music “was loved around the world and her talent was unmatched”.

Irish President Michael D Higgins praised O’Connor’s “authenticity” as well as her “beautiful, unique voice”.

“What Ireland has lost at such a relatively young age is one of our greatest and most gifted composers, songwriters and performers of recent decades, one who had a unique talent and extraordinary connection with her audience, all of whom held such love and warmth for her,” he said.

O’Connor expressed heartache over her son’s passing just days before she died.

The exact cause of death has not yet been revealed.

Rest in peace, Sinéad O’Connor.

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Final days of ‘Golden Girl’ Estelle Getty’s life – she struggled with a disease

By
Monica Pop
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The oldest of the Golden Girls, Sophia Petrillo, was played by actress Estelle Getty who found fame in film later in life after establishing a successful Broadway career.

In 1982, Getty had her big break when she was cast in the Broadway show The Torch Song. In the years that followed, she portrayed the major role of Mrs. Beckhoff on and off Broadway.

When she auditioned for the role in Golden Girls, Getty was so determined to get it that she made sure she looked older than she really was. Rumors are that she even had the famous straw purse which made through the seven seasons with her. In fact, Sophia, Getty’s character, was a year younger than Beatrice Arthur, who played Sophia’s daughter, Dorothy.

With her white curls, huge glasses, floral house dresses, and cardigan sweaters, Sophia became a much loved character who made millions laugh. Even today, years after Getty’s passing, her character brings joy and laughter in many people’s lives through the series’ re-runs.

Golden Girls ran for seven seasons, Getty then reprised her role in Golden Palace, a one-season 1992 show, and later in Empty Nest.

Getty was the first one of the cast of the legendary series to pass away. Unfortunately, she was diagnosed with Lewy body dementia, a progressive brain condition that is commonly confused with Alzheimer’s. This caused her difficulties memorizing her lines.

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Her co-stars shared that Getty would ask for cue cards and would experience panic episodes.

“She had an awful time remembering lines because she would freeze, she panicked. She would start getting under a dark cloud the day before tape day. You could see a big difference in her on that day. By tape day, she was unreachable. She was just as uptight as a human being can get,” Rue McClanahan, who died of stroke in 2010, said back in the day. “Finally, she asked for cue cards, which appalled us all, and at first the producers refused to stoop to such an unprofessional thing. But eventually, she had to be given cue cards for those deliciously funny Sophia stories.”

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Getty died quietly in her sleep in 2008, at the age of 84.

According to her son, Carl Gettleman, Getty’s co-stars didn’t attend her funeral. Shortly after his mom’s passing, Carl told Inside Edition that he was disappointed Bea Arthur, Betty White and Rue McClanahan skipped the service.

“They would certainly have been welcome. I don’t know why they wouldn’t be attending mom’s funeral. Maybe it’s a painful thing,” he said. “If it was someone I’d been tight with like that and worked with all those years I’d have been there.”

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Bronny James has been hospitalized after suffering cardiac arrest

By
Monica Pop
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Bronny, the 18-year-old son of basketball legend LeBron James, suffered cardiac arrest during a basketball workout at the University of Southern California (USC) on Monday, TMZ reported.

According to a statement from Bronny’s family spokesperson, he’s out of the intensive care unit and in stable condition.

“Yesterday while practicing Bronny James suffered a cardiac arrest. Medical staff was able to treat Bronny and take him to the hospital. He is now in stable condition and no longer in ICU,” the statement said.

“We ask for respect and privacy for the James family and we will update media when there is more information.

“LeBron and Savannah wish to publicly send their deepest thanks and appreciation to the USC medical and athletic staff for their incredible work and dedication to the safety of their athletes.”

According to reports, the 911 call was made around 9:30 the morning of July 24 after which Bronny, who was unconscious, was rushed via ambulance to the nearest hospital.

Sports figures from all over the country, as well as the world, sent their messages of support and wished the young star a complete recovery.

Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, who suffered cardiac arrest during an NFL game last season and who has since been active in advocating for AED training and awareness which potentially saved his life, tweeted his support: “Prayers to Bronny & The James Family as well (prayer emoji) here for you guys just like you have been for me my entire process.”

We wish Bronny James a speedy recovery.

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Inside Tony Bennett’s New York apartment where he spent his last few years – he was in good spirits

By
Monica Pop
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New York, NY - January 30, 2018: Tony Bennett and Susan Benedetto attend Exploring the Arts 11th annual gala at Ziegfeld Ballroom

Tony Bennett, a music legend in his own right, spent the last couple of years of his life in his splendid Manhattan apartment. The New York-born star passed away at the age of 96 on July 21, 2023. During the final years of his life, he battled Alzheimer.

Bennett’s career, which spanned decades, started in the most unexpected way. He possessed incredible voice and a singing talent that he was able to show to the guests of an Italian restaurant located in his neighborhood where he worked as a waiter. Young Bennett would serve the customers while singing to them. “I loved that time of my life, and I honestly feel that, if I hadn’t made it professionally, I would be perfectly happy going back to being a singing waiter,” Bennett shared with The San Diego Union-Tribune.

After he learned that entertaining audiences was his calling, Bennett started studying singing at the American Theatre Wing just after his service in the war was over. His singing coach, Mimi Spencer, was probably the person who impacted his career a great deal. She would always say to him not to imitate other singers, but musicians instead.

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“That’s the same thing that Billie Holiday said in her book, that she imitated Louis Armstrong. I imitated (jazz pianist) Art Tatum. He held on to the basic melody like a rock, but his chords and sense of accompaniment were astounding.”

During his career of many years, Bennett released 60 studio albums, 11 live albums, and sold 50 million records worldwide. He has a huge number of hits which brought him numerous awards, but one song in particular, I Left My Heart in San Francisco, is what defined his singing career.

Bennett was diagnosed with Alzheimer in 2016 with his wife Susan Benedetto being his primary caregiver. Speaking of his diagnosis and how he accepted it, Susan once shared a conversation she had with her husband. “He would ask me, ‘What is Alzheimer’s?’ I would explain, but he wouldn’t get it. He’d tell me, ‘Susan, I feel fine.’ That’s all he could process, physically felt great.”

Bennett’s residence was located in a high-rise building overlooking Central Park, on the 15th floor. It consisted of three bedrooms, a large kitchen where Bennett spent time cooking featuring oak cabinets, stainless steel appliances, a massive dinner table and plenty of counter space. The place included a decked-out entertainment room, home office, bathrooms, and more.

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The giant windows of his apartment allowed him to enjoy the incredible skyline from the comfort of his home.

One of the bedrooms was converted into a studio where the Grammy-award singer kept his sketches adorned on the walls. Besides being a musician, Bennett was also a passionate painter in love with creative work.

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The living space, which felt inviting, featured soft yellow walls, hardwood floors and an Italy-inspired interior design along with a black grand piano which Bennett was known to play for hours on end.

Bennett and his third wife met when he was in his 60s and she was in her 20s, but the age difference of 40 years didn’t stop them from starting a relationship.

Tony Bennett was truly a legend. The music scene will miss him and his voice. May he rest in peace.

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