Musicians Who Spoke Out Against Power Players

After performing an a capella rendition of Bob Marley's "War" and changing the words from "racism" to "child abuse," rock star Sinead O'Connor shocked Saturday Night Live audiences as she ripped up a picture of Pope John Paul II on live TV. 

It was 1992, and most of the world remained unaware of the sexual abuse happening behind the locked doors of the Catholic Church. O'Connor was banned from NBC for life, booed off stage at a Bob Dylan tribute concert event a few days later, and lost much of the popularity she had gained with her hit songs. 

While critics argue that the bold move ruined her career, O'Connor maintains it created the platform to get her back on track. Writing about the incident in her memoir, Rememberings, O'Connor said the photo had always been the sole picture hanging in her mother's bedroom, which she took after her mother passed. O'Connor elaborated,

My intention had always been to destroy my mother’s photo of the pope. It represented lies and liars and abuse. The type of people who kept these things were devils like my mother…

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… After SNL, I could just be me.

Days before her infamous performance, Irish journalists released a story about priests abusing children in Irish Catholic Churches with no repercussions. 

As O'Connor exercised her right to free speech, she also alerted the world to a scandal that wouldn't draw the attention it needed until years later. 

Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein was dismissed from his company in October 2017 following sexual abuse allegations from women dating back to the late 1970s. In February 2020, he was convicted of rape and sexual assault and sentenced to 23 years. 

Weinstein's actions seemed to be an open secret in the entertainment industry for years, with occasional allusions thrown out as jokes.

But singer, songwriter, and actress Courtney Love went further than joking and actually warned young women about the executive back in 2005. During a red carpet interview at Comedy Central's roast of Pamela Anderson, someone asked Love, “What advice do you have for young women in Hollywood?”

Love replied, “I’ll get libeled if I say it... If Harvey Weinstein invites you to a private party in his Four Seasons [hotel room], don’t go.”

Many other actresses stepped forward to share their own stories of Weinstein, which would eventually help convict him, including Rose McGowan, Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow, Salma Hayek, Ashley Judd, Daryl Hannah, and Uma Thurman.

When an artist first records an album, it's considered a “master.” From that one recording, all other versions of any of its songs - whether on Spotify, YouTube, advertisements, or TV shows, are copies of the original master version. Traditionally, this master copy is owned by an artist's record company. This means that any entity who wishes to use an artist's song has to ask permission from the label and pay them a fee. 

For years, pop star Taylor Swift tried multiple times to purchase her own masters from Big Machine Label Group founder Scott Borchetta. However, Borchetta refused. Even when she switched record label companies, everything she made before 2018 under Borchetta's label remained under his control. 

Then, in 2019, Borchetta sold his company to Scooter Braun - Kanye West's manager at the time. Swift took to social media, making heartfelt, emotional posts about the unfairness of the deal. The move that placed Swift's legacy and career in the hands of her enemy's manager caused outrage among her fans and several artists - including Halsey and Iggy Azalea - to side with the “Bad Blood” vocalist. 

To take back control over her music, Swift began re-recording and re-releasing all of her old albums as “Taylor's Version,” essentially ensuring that she is the one who financially benefits from her albums. 

Many have pinpointed specific lyrics of Swift's that they believe address Braun and Borchetta, the latter of whom had been a big presence in Swift's life since her teenage years. In “My Tears Ricochet," she supposedly sings of Borchetta,

I didn't have it in myself to go with grace
'Cause when I'd fight, you used to tell me I was brave
And if I'm dead to you, why are you at the wake?
Cursing my name, wishing I stayed

Although allegations against Ticketmaster's business practices increasingly made headlines in 2022, Pearl Jam recognized the business model as a scam and boycotted the company in 1994. 

Even in the mid-1990s, Ticketmaster was notorious for charging hidden service fees while devising secret contracts with venues in major cities to use the company as their only point of sales for events. When Pearl Jam made plans for their 1995 tour, the group demanded Ticketmaster have a clearly printed $1.80 service fee on their $18 tickets. The company, which usually charged two to three times that amount in hidden fees, refused.

Justice Department officials approached Pearl Jam to take their complaints to court. Meanwhile, the group made plans to use an alternative ticketing company, ETM Entertainment, for event sales, and booked lesser-known venues in smaller towns to boycott Ticketmaster's monopoly. 

Ultimately, Ticketmaster escaped the lawsuit, which would have required the company to be transparent about its service fees.

A year after The Sex Pistols released "God Save the Queen" - an anarchist song banned from British radio - the BBC took a chance by inviting band member John Lydon ("Johnny Rotten") to a 1978 interview. After revealing he would love to make a film where he could kill off the characters, Lydon mentioned that longtime BBC DJ and TV host Jimmy Savile would be at the top of his list. When the reporter asked the musician how he would execute the mass killings on film, Lydon replied: 

I don’t know, I just want to make a film of it. I want to kill Jimmy Savile - he’s a hypocrite. I bet he’s into all kinds of seediness that we all know about but aren’t allowed to talk about. I know some rumors…

Lydon concluded his statement by suggesting that despite these rumors, BBC would never allow Savile's criminal activities or accusations to surface because it insinuated the broadcaster knew of and approved of Savile's actions. 

Lydon's hypothesis was proven correct - the interview never aired, and he was banned from BBC. 

It wasn't until Savile's passing in 2011 that the truth finally began pouring out from his victims. Over the span of five decades, more than 400 people ranging in age from 5 to 75 accused Savile of sexually assaulting, raping, or abusing them. Lydon claims the BBC censored him for telling the truth about their beloved host.

When The Beatles were invited to play a special concert at the Gator Bowl in 1964, they agreed on one condition: the audience would not be divided by race. 

Jacksonville, FL, officials eventually agreed, allowing the British musical group to make an influential stand against segregation policies in America. The Fab Four repeated their insistence in 1965, requiring the Cow Palace in California to sign a contract promising they would not play for segregated audiences. 

At the time, John Lennon spoke on the issue: 

We never play to segregated audiences, and we aren't going to start now… I'd sooner lose our appearance money.