PHOTO: Kris Kristofferson consoled Sinead O’Connor after she was booed mercilessly for telling the truth on SNL in 1992

Kris Kristofferson consoled Sinead O’Connor after she was booed mercilessly for telling the truth on SNL in 1992. READ MORE HERE

Kristofferson showed support for O’Connor – who died at the age of 56 in July of 2023 – at an October 1992 concert in New York City as she faced a career crisis in the weeks following the incident, which made international headlines.

On the October 3, 1992 episode of the NBC variety program, O’Connor tore up an image of Pope John Paul II as she performed to protest the Catholic Church, saying, ‘Fight the real enemy.’

The Nothing Compares 2 U singer had been outspoken against the religious institution years prior to accusations of sexual abuse dominating the headlines, and suffered considerable career pushback in the wake of the controversial gesture.

Amid the profuse public backlash against the Irish singer, the next week’s SNL host, Goodfellas star Joe Pesci, addressed the controversy and was cheered for his criticism of O’Connor in his commentary on the October 10, 1992 edition.

Kris Kristofferson, the singer and songwriter whose literary yet plain-spoken compositions infused country music with rarely heard candor and depth, and who later had a successful second career in movies, died at his home on Maui, Hawaii, on Saturday. He was 88.

His death was announced by Ebie McFarland, a spokeswoman, who did not give a cause.

Hundreds of artists have recorded Mr. Kristofferson’s songs — among them, Al Green, the Grateful Dead, Michael Bublé and Gladys Knight and the Pips.

Mr. Kristofferson’s breakthrough as a songwriter came with “For the Good Times,” a bittersweet ballad that topped the country chart and reached the Top 40 on the pop chart for Ray Price in 1970. His “Sunday Morning Coming Down” became a No. 1 country hit for his friend and mentor Johnny Cash later that year.