Sam Smith has responded to the backlash they received for their ‘I’m Not Here To Make Friends’ music video which celebrates their queer identity, body, and sexuality.
The music video begins with Smith leaving a golden helicopter wearing a glamorous pink dress, and throughout the video, they wear a series of elaborate costumes and accessories including a corset, lingerie, a crown, tights, and nipple pasties, and dance alongside queer performers.
Sam behaves freely and outrageously alongside the other dancers, throwing champagne bottles and dancing confidently. The whole production has been described as a triumph of queer art and self-love with LGBTQ+ representation.
However, Sam Smith has unfortunately received quite a bit of backlash since the video’s release.
Conservative critics have described the production as “disgraceful”, compared it to pornography, and claimed that the content should be age-restricted even though it contains no nudity or offensive language.
In response, Smith posted a photo from the video, captioned, “Never too much”.
Never too much ✨ pic.twitter.com/ANKVPEvoXV
— SAM SMITH (@samsmith) January 29, 2023
Members of the queer community have been quick to defend Sam, praising their sex-positive, body-positive stance, and pointing to the double standards that exist within the music industry.
For decades, artists like Madonna, Nicki Minaj, and Christina Aguilera have all released pop music videos that included sexy imagery. Even Harry Styles has been praised for breaking the gender binary in his tour costumes. According to fans on social media, the difference here is that the artist is not straight, cisgender, or supermodel skinny.
If a straight white cis woman popstar did what sam smith did there would be no problem. People just don’t like that Sam is queer, plus sized and unapologetic about it. Case in point:
– Christina Aguilara in Dirrty
– Miles Curys in Wercking Ball
– Madonna in Like a Prayer— Dr Charlotte Proudman (@DrProudman) January 30, 2023
https://twitter.com/DaftLimmy/status/1619737357938491392?s=20&t=otmXJqCLRw3Xbrvdd5O33w
Sam has long been an advocate for body positivity and they have been open about their body image struggles in the past. In 2019, they shared an Instagram post affirming that they are finally feeling comfortable in their own body.
View this post on Instagram
Sam Smith has had an incredible few months, making LGBTQ+ music history when their hit song, ‘Unholy’, earned the top spot on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in October 2022. They were also nominated for the Best Pop Duo/Group Performance award at the 2023 Grammys, the results of which will be revealed later this week.
If you’re hoping for a chance to see a live performance of ‘I’m Not Here to Make Friends’, Sam Smith will be bringing their Gloria tour to Dublin’s 3Arena on April 14 and 15, 2023.
© 2023 GCN (Gay Community News). All rights reserved.
Support GCN
GCN is a free, vital resource for Ireland’s LGBTQ+ community since 1988.
GCN is a trading name of National LGBT Federation CLG, a registered charity - Charity Number: 20034580.
GCN relies on the generous support of the community and allies to sustain the crucial work that we do. Producing GCN is costly, and, in an industry which has been hugely impacted by rising costs, we need your support to help sustain and grow this vital resource.
Supporting GCN for as little as €1.99 per month will help us continue our work as Ireland’s free, independent LGBTQ+ media.
comments. Please sign in to comment.