Singer Sinead O'Connor has penned an open letter to Miley Cyrus after the 20-year-old pop star compared her new 'Wrecking Ball' video to the Irish singer's iconic 'Nothing Compares 2 u' promo.
Both videos feature close-ups of the performers crying, but O'Connor insists that's where the similarities end and she does not want to be associated with the provocative star, reported Daily Express.
In the open letter posted on her website, O'Connor writes, "I am extremely concerned for you that those around you have led you to believe, or encouraged you in your own belief, that it is in any way 'cool' to be naked and licking sledgehammers in your videos. It is in fact the case that you will obscure your talent by allowing yourself to be pimped, whether it's the music business or yourself doing the pimping.
"Nothing but harm will come in the long run, from allowing yourself to be exploited, and it is absolutely not in any way an empowerment of yourself or any other young women, for you to send across the message that you are to be valued (even by you) more for your sexual appeal than your obvious talent."
O'Connor begins the open letter by stating that she has been contacted by various newspapers after Cyrus declared in her recent Rolling Stone cover story that the "Wrecking Ball" clip was inspired by O'Connor's "Nothing Compares 2 U" video, which won the Video of the Year trophy at the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards.
Like Cyrus, O'Connor's career has been marked by televised controversy -- in 1992, the Irish singer ripped up a photo of Pope John Paul II on "Saturday Night Live" before shouting, "Fight the real enemy!". But the singer-songwriter hopes to caution Cyrus against "selling body" for attention, since, she warns, the music industry will eventually exploit that vulnerability.
