Sinead O'Connor apologises for 'white people' jibe after facing Islamophobia

O’Connor backtracked on comments made last October in which she said she no longer wanted to "spend time with white people again”.

The remarks were posted on Twitter using the hashtag “#ReignOfWhiteMANover”.

But the Nothing Compares 2 U singer apologised for the tweets, saying she was unwell at the time of posting.

“As regards to remarks I made while angry and unwell, about white people... they were not true at the time and they are not true now," she told her Twitter followers.

"I was triggered as a result of islamophobia dumped on me. I apologise for hurt caused. That was one of many crazy tweets lord knows.”

O’Connor also took aim at those questioning her decision to convert, dismissing claims she was jumping from one religion to another.

"Lots saying I've changed religions more than once. Not so. I was born into Christianity and I changed to Islam. So that's one change. For those who have difficulty counting."

She added: "I've actually never joined any religion other than Islam. I was born catholic. That wasn't my choice. I remained catholic until I became Muslim. So I've only changed religion once. FYI."

The remarks came just days after O’Connor, who converted to Islam October last year and changed her name to Shuhada Davitt, appeared on Ireland's The Late Late Show where she discussed her conversion to Islam while donning the Muslim headscarf on national television.

On the show, she said her conversion was natural because upon studying the religion, she realised she was always a Muslim.

“The word ‘revert’ refers to the idea that if you were to study the Qur’an you would realise that you were a Muslim all your life and you didn’t realise it. That’s what happened to me,” she on national TV.

Despite her growing up in a religious environment, O’Connor was unable to reconcile with her Catholic beliefs, leading her onto a spiritual journey to find her true connection God.

“I am 52. I grew up in a very different Ireland to the one that exists now and it was a very oppressed country religiously speaking. And everybody was miserable; nobody was getting any joy in God”, Sinead explained.

“My experience of ageing is that as my body is getting older, I am getting younger,” she added.

She also spoke about her professional career as a singer, which saw a comeback recently after a long hiatus. 

“I was really working so hard for years, I was burnt out. So it is a bit of a, I suppose a comeback,” she said.

“I actually thought nobody would be interested anymore. I really thought nobody was going to buy any tickets to the shows. I really thought I wouldn’t even get any shows, that nobody would hire me.”

O'Connor also sang on the show while wearing a pink hijab - said to be a favourite hijab colour of the Prophet Muhammed’s wife Aisha - in a move that saw many express support for the talented new Muslim online.

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