In 1992, O’Connor appeared as a musical guest on "Saturday Night
Live." After singing Bob Marley’s “War,” a rendition in which she
changed the lyrics to draw attention to child abuse in the Catholic
church, she ripped in half a photo of Pope John Paul II,
a move the show’s producers claimed was unplanned.
The audience reacted in shocked silence. The act elicited support from pornographer Bob Guccione, praise for creating "a moment of truly great television" by the Chicago Sun-Times' Richard Roeper, and criticism from Madonna, who was quoted as saying there were other ways of criticizing the church than by ripping up a symbol that meant something to so many people.
http://www.ibtimes.com/sinead-oconnor-publish-memoir-denies-earlier-claim-sexual-conquests-will-be-detailed-1701179
The audience reacted in shocked silence. The act elicited support from pornographer Bob Guccione, praise for creating "a moment of truly great television" by the Chicago Sun-Times' Richard Roeper, and criticism from Madonna, who was quoted as saying there were other ways of criticizing the church than by ripping up a symbol that meant something to so many people.
http://www.ibtimes.com/sinead-oconnor-publish-memoir-denies-earlier-claim-sexual-conquests-will-be-detailed-1701179