Aside from her mesmerizing voice and musical talents, Sinéad O’Connor was perhaps most famous for her fearless personality and take-no-prisoners attitude. One surprising recipient of that attitude was allegedly none other than John F. Kennedy Jr., the son of Jackie Kennedy and former president JFK. The claim comes from renowned journalist Legs McNeil who interviewed, and had a brief romance with, the Irish singer in 1988 across a number of months. In a The Daily Beast articlelast week, McNeil reflected on his time with the singer following her July 26 death.
During one of their New York meetups, O’Connor and McNeil were dining “at some trendy, yuppie restaurant called ‘America’ on 18th Street,” as McNeil recalls. “Sinéad had just flown in from London and was exhausted.” O’Connor, who McNeil described as “smart, extremely articulate, funny, and the most gorgeous creature I’d ever seen” was just starting to gain recognition in the United States but, even with minimal fame, still managed to captivate some of the customers at the restaurant including one particularly famous one — JFK Jr., often referred to by his nickname, “John-John.”
“When she left the table to go to the ladies’ room, John-John Kennedy handed her a piece of paper and pencil and asked for her phone number,” McNeil recalled O’Connor telling him. JFK’s socialite son, who died in a 1999 plane crash, had a reputation as a ladies man in affluent New York social circles and was known to pursue many female stars in his time. O’Connor, however, did not reciprocate his advances. McNeil claims: “The arrogance of John-John earned the wrath of Sinéad, and she broke his pencil and told him to ‘Fuck off!’”
“I was flattered that Sinéad picked me over Kennedy, knowing that every girl in Manhattan would’ve given John-John her left ankle tattoo in favor of a date with him,” McNeil wrote along with other reflections on their time together and high praise for O’Connor’s “very strong will and bravery.” The singer was found dead in her London home on July 26, over a year after her 17-year-old son Shane died by suicide. Police are not treating the singer’s death as suspicious.
Sinéad O’Connor Had This Ruthless Response to JFK Jr. Asking For Her Number. Sinéad O’Connor Had This Ruthless Response to JFK Jr. Asking For Her Number