Although Sam Smith isn’t new to receiving backlash for their identity, there has undoubtedly been an uptick in recent months, between their expressively queer video for “I’m Not Here To Make Friends” and their performance of “Unholy” with Kim Petras at the Grammys. And apparently some people are even comfortable enough to express that hate offline and to their face.
A video surfaced this week showing Smith walking down the street, allegedly in New York City, as a woman heckled them from a distance.
“You belong in hell! Sam Smith belongs in hell!” she screamed. “You demonic, twisted, sick bastard. Leave the kids alone, you sick fucker. Sam Smith is a pedophile!”
The woman shouted some other things about children that were unintelligible, before wrapping up with an encore of: “You sick motherfucker, Sam Smith! You’re evil!”
Let’s be perfectly clear here: there is nothing to suggest that Smith has ever targeted children in anyway, let alone in a way that warrants calling them a pedophile. Their content is not aimed at children, and if children go behind their parents’ backs and watch it, that’s a parent problem, not a Sam Smith problem.
This is just how bigots react to LGBTQ+ people who don’t hide who they are, who aren’t ashamed of who they are, and with constant anti-gay and anti-trans rhetoric in the news and on social media, clearly people are once again becoming comfortable with screaming these sorts of heinous accusations in public, even in the streets of New York City.
In addition to pointing out how uncalled for this kind of cruelty is, people online also made some valid points about the situation.
The “think of the children” crowd should really consider spending more time targeting things that actually hurt children. But accosting a singer in the street over a Grammys performance is not it.
What song did Sam Smith become famous from?
Smith's break came from a collaboration with Disclosure on the track "Latch," but their first solo single was "Lay Me Down."
Is Sam Smith married?
Smith is not currently married.
How old is Sam Smith?
Smith was born on May 19, 1992.
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