The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
In the last two weeks, singer-songwriter Sam Smith has been a pretty controversial person in the news. The first instance being their attire in their new music video for the song “I’m Not Here to Make Friends”, which was released on January 27th this year. The second instance being their performance with Kim Petras at the Grammy Awards on Sunday February 5th.
Sam Smith is an English singer-songwriter. They are 30 years old and have been making music since 2008. They have very popular songs including “Stay with Me” and “I Know I’m Not the Only One”. In 2019, Smith “came out as nonbinary and genderqueer”. In 2022, Smith released a new song called “Unholy” and then re-released it in 2023 with singer Kim Petras. This song was popular on TikTok before it was even finished and fully released to the public.
On January 27th, Smith released their music video for their new song “I’m Not Here to Make Friends”. In this video, Smith is seen in a corset, nipple-coverings, and a very small pair of bottoms. After the release of the video, there were horrible comments all over social media. On Instagram, @mattxiv created a post that contained some of the hateful comments made where people were claiming they were “absolutely disgusted” or wondering “what happened to 2014 Smith”. Some people went as far as comparing Smith to Andrew Tate, who is a popular media personality known for his misogynistic views. Tate is currently being detained in Romania while being investigated for rape and human trafficking. As seen in @mattxiv’s post, on Twitter, @mztty claimed that “children will see this as well […] Andrew Tate is in jail for nothing and this man isn’t? Vile”. The comparison between the two is ridiculous and yet some people find it to be accurate.
Many people are not okay with this androgynous style that Sam Smith has recently worn, and it confuses them since Smith did not always dress this way. They explained in an interview with Gay Times that in the beginning of their career, they felt almost as though they were “a woman, at times, dressing up in male clothing” . They always wanted to freely express their style but did not feel ready to do so until coming out as nonbinary in 2019. Now, people are deeming them disgusting due to their fashion choices in this new music video.
There are multiple concerning things about the controversy surrounding this situation. People are considering a music video and the clothing worn within it as an equivalent to a case of rape and human trafficking, which is the single most alarming part of the discourse. The comparison between Sam Smith and Andrew Tate is deeply concerning and they are incomparable. They are not remotely similar in situation and claiming that Sam Smith belongs in jail because of this video is absurd. Some people have a serious problem with someone dressing androgynously, especially celebrities. Many voice the concern that children are watching these videos and celebrities are only confusing the children with this open display of freedom and lack of adherence to gender norms. This is alarming to many, and some consider it to be the equivalent of human trafficking and rape. Furthermore, some people are trying to villainize Smith in order to make Tate appear less horrible. Tate has built up a dedicated fan base that continues to excuse or deny his actions that have landed him in detainment. These two people are not the same. Dressing androgynously is not a crime, freedom of expression is not a crime. The villainization of Smith, while they are unapologetically being who they are, is a clear indication that many people in society would rather support a misogynistic man who has been accused of rape and human trafficking than support a nonbinary person who is singing and writing music. This is unacceptable and there is no comparison between Tate and Smith, Sam Smith is not a criminal.
An additional problem with the controversy surrounding Sam Smith is how the androgynous style is not one that is new. In fact, there are more celebrities embracing the practice of wearing clothing without worrying about adhering to gender norms. Harry Styles is a famous pop star and is often seen wearing androgynous styles and clothing combinations. In most cases, Harry has been praised for his clothes and deemed attractive in almost everything that he wears. However, they are deemed disgusting when Smith does it, and the clothing is said to be unflattering. The difference between the two is their body types. There are a lot of people who become disturbed by anyone who wears revealing clothing if they are not skinny according to societal standards. These people need to be reminded that, as stated by @mattxiv on Instagram, “sexuality is not only for thin people, fashion is not only for thin people, androgyny is not only for thin people, queerness is not only for thin people”.
On February 5th, at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards, Kim Petras and Sam Smith performed their new song “Unholy” on stage. The song’s unholiness is in the name, and yet people, mainly conservatives, were shocked when a devil-themed performance occurred. “Smith took to the stage […] dressed in red with a horned top hat”. After the performance, Texas Senator Ted Cruz stated on Twitter that the performance was evil. Cruz and other conservative leaders went as far as to say this was “a woke inclination towards Satanism”. This performance launched several conservative leaders and figures to explain their concerns for America, society, and leftists. Podcast host Liz Wheeler claimed that this performance was “teaching your kids to worship Satan”. These figures employed the performance to express their concerns with political topics and issues that were not even remotely related to the Grammys or the original intention of the performance.
Sam Smith and Kim Petras won the Grammy for best pop duo/group performance. This made Smith the first nonbinary winner and Petras the first transgender female winner. In
response to the controversy that occurred after their performance, Petras explained to reporters that the performance and the music were intended to be about “not being able to choose religion”. She explained that many people see what both Petras and Smith believe in and stand for as religiously unacceptable. They both feel as though they are not accepted in religion due to their identities as trans and nonbinary. Otherwise, the performance had no political intention.
Sam Smith has been deemed a controversial person twice in the last two weeks due to people’s ignorance and intolerance of others being outside of society’s norms. If Smith chooses to dress androgynously and they feel happy doing it, there is no reason for people to judge them or claim that they are vile. It is 2023, people should be able to wear what they want regardless of their identity, body type, or other people’s opinions. The performance of “Unholy” at the Grammy Awards sparked controversy because anything devil-related sparks fear, especially when it is coming from an LGBTQ+ person. Many people were quick to try to make connections between the performance and Satanism when there were none. The performance was about the artists’ and their personal perceptions of religion. This brings up a broader issue of political figures attempting to regulate the media. Political figures should not be concerned with what is being performed at the Grammys, it is art and expression, not politics. Essentially, Sam Smith’s moments of controversy are completely absurd and stem from deeper societal issues. As @Mattxiv stated, “watching someone live their best life while embodying an identity that society deems wrong is triggering to people who are miserable with themselves” (Instagram).