Irish singer Sinead O’Connor was very touched by the sympathy the general public have shown the late Robin Williams and his family after news broke of the legendary comedian’s suicide this past Monday (Aug 11th), but she wishes young women with mental illnesses would receive the same compassion.
O’Connor wishes women with mental health issues would be treated the same as men
The Oscar-winning actor, who had suffered with depression in the past, was found in his bedroom, fully clothed, and gently suspended in a seat with a belt wrapped around his neck, with one end wedged between the door and the frame of his closet.
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The ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ singer, who has previously attempted suicide, recently expressed that she believes women who are open about having mental health issues “get treated like dirt,” especially from the media.
“Coverage of well-known females who have mental illness or suffer from depression is notoriously abusive,” she recently told Sky News. “Female celebrities get lynched in the street, they get mocked and buffooned.”
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O’Connor used high-profile celebrities like Britney Spears and Amanda Bynes as examples of women who have had their personal troubles become a spectacle in the media but claims if they were men, the public would have shown more empathy.
Williams committed suicide on Monday (Aug 11th)
“When males in the public eye are dealing with the same thing, coverage is much more compassionate as it should be,” she said. “I’ve been through that myself and it’s really appalling.”
“It would be better if people learnt out of this why a man like that would be driven to that. Stigma is the most enormous reason why people go that far,” O’Connor, who is releasing her tenth album ‘I’m Not Bossy, I’m The Boss,’ added. “When you admit that you are anything that may be mistakenly or otherwise perceived as mentally ill, you know you’ll get treated like dirt so you don’t tell anybody and that’s why people die.”
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