Sam Smith’s racy music video sparks fierce debate
Sam Smith’s raunchy music video sparks heated controversy.Sam, who is non-binary and utilises they/them pronouns, dresses up in a corset and nipple pasties for the extravagant music video for their current single, the Calvin Harris-produced I’m Not Here To Make Friends.
It’s the latest single from Sam’s fourth studio album Gloria, which also features the worldwide number one smash Unholy by Kim Petras.
However, Sam’s appearance in the new video has resulted in the star being attacked and mocked online, with others rushing to protect them, claiming homophobia and fatphobia are to blame for some who appear to be terrified by Sam’s revealing appearance.
Sam’s music and personal style were significantly more conservative when they launched their debut album in May 2014, the same month they officially came out as gay.
Early press photos showed Smith dressed like Michael Buble in a typical uniform of dark suits, and their breakout songs were all lovelorn ballads like Lay Me Down and Stay With Me.
As the debate raged, Smith appeared to make a reference to the controversy, posting a photo of themselves from the set of the video with the simple caption: “Never too much.”
See what all the fuss is about below:
In 2019, Smith admitted they felt self conscious if they were photographed without a T-shirt and would often starve themself in anticipation of a photography session.
“In the past if I have ever done a photo shoot with so much as a T-shirt on, I have starved myself for weeks in advance and then picked and prodded at every picture and then normally taken the picture down,” they wrote on Instagram.
However, they decided to “reclaim” their body, saying it was time to “stop trying to change this chest and these hips and these curves that my mum and dad made and love so unconditionally”.