Kris Kristofferson remembered for defending Sinead O’Connor on stage after she was booed for ‘SNL’

Kris Kristofferson, who died Saturday at age 88, left a legacy as a singer, songwriter and actor. He also had a moment of support for the artist in the throes of controversy.

In October 1992, Sinead O’Connor tore up a photo of Pope John Paul II while appearing as the musical guest on “Saturday Night Live.” In her opinion, it was a gesture protesting against child abuse in the Catholic Church. This inglorious moment caused confusion and changed the course of her career.

About two weeks after the “SNL” incident, O’Connor appeared at New York’s Madison Square Garden for Bob Dylan’s 30th anniversary concert. It was Kristofferson who introduced her to the stage.

“I’m truly proud to introduce another artist whose name has become synonymous with courage and honesty,” he told the audience. “Ladies and gentlemen, Sinead O’Connor.”

At this point, much cheering replaced boos as O’Connor, then 25, took the stage.

The Irish singer-songwriter took a step back from the microphone and stood with a straight face as the crowd continued to boo. Kristofferson then returned to the stage and whispered in O’Connor’s ear before walking away.

“They told me to come out and get her off the stage and I said, ‘I’m not going to do that.’ I came out and said, ‘Don’t let these bastards get you down,'” Kristofferson recounted that moment in 2010 during an appearance on Irish broadcaster RTÉ One’s “Saturday Night with Miriam.”

Perhaps not coincidentally, “Don’t Let the Bastards Get You Down” is the title of a song from Kristofferson’s 1990 album, Third World Warrior.

Kristofferson said O’Connor responded to his words without maintaining her position.

“And she said, ‘I’m not depressed,’ and she sang. It was very brave. It just seemed wrong to boo this little girl, but she always had courage,” he said.

Moments after Kristofferson whispered in O’Connor’s ear, she began singing her song “War” – the same song she performed on “SNL” when she tore up a photo of the pope.

During a 2010 appearance on “Saturday Night with Miriam”, Kristofferson and O’Connor also teamed up to perform his song “Help Me Make It Through the Night”.

O’Connor, who died in 2023 at the age of 56, seemed to continue to be an inspiration to Kristofferson.

In 2009, he recorded the song “Sister Sinead”, the lyrics of which began: “I sing this song for my sister Sinead / About the damn mess she made / When she told them her truth as hard as she could / Her message was deeply wrong understood.”

This article was originally published on TODAY.com