Sam Smith Fans Call Hypocrisy on 'I'm Not Here To Make Friends' Controversy
British pop prince Sam Smith is the latest target of online outrage.
As reported by NME, the visuals for the singer's new single "I'm Not Here To Make Friends" are being accused of being too sexual in nature, with some saying the video should come with age restrictions. But Smith's fans are calling cap on the whole ordeal.
"Sex has always been a running theme in modern pop music, and music videos often flaunt it." wrote one Twitter commentator. "But Sam Smith has made the criminal offence of being a) queer and b) not skinny, and in an increasingly anti-LGBTQ culture, that can't be tolerated."
Smith arrives to a stately home via golden helicopter and pink fringe before he begins to declare that he's "not here to make friends" in various outfits inspired by the Victorian era and high society. There are suggestive elements in the video that only an adult would understand, and the video no more boundary-pushing than Madonna's "Express Yourself." And yet calls for the video to be censored are becoming a growing part of the ongoing discourse over what is appropriate and what isn't.
Smith's fans point out that sexuality has always been a theme in modern pop music. The only difference being Smith is presenting their body as desirable in place of a typically objectified female body.
Aidan Moffat wrote: "There are thousands, if not millions, of far more sexually explicit pop videos than that Sam Smith one. Most of them will feature young girls. It must be exhausting being so hateful all the time. And to be so utterly terrified of difference."
Dr. Charlotte Proudman added, "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."
Smith just released his latest EP "Glory," and has admitted that they have faced a lot of verbal abuse since coming out as transgender.
"Just the amount of hate, and shitness [sic] that came my way, was just exhausting. And it was really hard," they said. "What people don't realise, with trans non-binary people in the UK, is it's happening in the street. Like I'm being abused in the street, verbally, more than I ever have. So that was the hardest part, I think, was being at home in the UK and having people shouting at me in the street."
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