Sam Smith Ignites More Controversy With Full Perfect Magazine Spread

A few weeks ago, pop star Sam Smith debuted as the cover star of the latest issue of Perfect Magazine.

The theme was body autonomy, a subject that's near and dear to Smith's heart as they've publicly struggled with their weight and image.

“Autonomy: the power of self, of personal choice, of independence. It is the ability to make one’s own decisions, to live as we see fit," the description reads. "In this issue, we have gathered a stellar cast of incredible human beings, each of whom has carved their own path and soldiered forward to leave a profound mark on this world.”

The nonbinary "Stay With Me" singer captioned the photo “Honey Roasted Sam” and it pictured the songwriter laying stomach down, tied up in red ribbons, and wearing pink latex gloves and boots.

Fresh off the heels of their "Unholy" Grammy's performance that conservatives deemed "satanic," it certainly stirred up some controversy and is whipping up a whirlwind of discourse about fatphobia and body diversity.

Well, Smith is still fanning the flames. They premiered the new photos on Instagram this morning, simply captioned with an orange heart emoji.

And the discourse has already begun. While some celebrated the photos and wrote things like "You have to appreciate the boldness of it all, Sam doesn’t care what y’all think & say," others left comments like, "Amazing is the wrong word. Try grotesque." Many more left degrading comments or memes in the replies.

The issue's desire is to, of course, encourage that discourse. The photos play with the idea of beauty and perfection in an attempt to redefine what’s pretty or “perfect.” And Smith bursting out of the clothes comments on the desire to fit into beauty standards, then finding beauty or strength outside of them.

At least, that's our interpretation. Neither Smith nor Perfect Magazine has explicitly commented on the photos or the surrounding controversy, but they are certainly leaving their mark on the culture.