Sam Smith fans have absolutely no time for online trolls and their vicious body-shaming
Sam Smith performs at Capital Jingle Bell Ball. (Getty)
Sam Smith fans are coming to their defence after the singer was subjected to vicious body-shaming following their performance at Capital’s Jingle Bell Ball.
The singer, who performed their hit song Unholy alongside Kim Petras at the event in London on 10 December, was attacked by trolls online for their weight and decision to wear a glittery silver jumpsuit.
The bullying, deeply rooted in homophobia and fatphobia, has now been called out by friends and fans who are pointing to bigotry within the LGBTQ+ community.
The comments are particularly disheartening in light of Smith’s recent comments about body insecurity and their journey to empowerment. The record-breaking singer is genderqueer and non-binary, and uses they/them pronouns.
Sam Smith’s history with body image
Smith has always been vocal about their relationship with body image, and opened up about it in a recent interview with GQ.
The star started working with designer Ben Reardon on their wardrobe, saying: “I used to be so scared of fashion. Ben started from the basics.
“He just started to introduce me to clothes that just fit in the right place on my body and matched the way I felt inside.
“And having fun with it. I like funny things. And so we’ve leaned into that more, and my personal wardrobe has got a bit of humour to it.”
And fashion designer Harris Reed, who collaborated with Sam on his genderfluid fashion show, added: “They [Sam Smith] really embrace their body, who they are, what they’re putting out into the world.
“There’s this beautifully deeply rooted confidence that I find so admirable.”
However, this has not always been the case. Back in 2019 Smith posted a shirtless picture to Instagram saying: “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.
“I decided to fight the f**k back. Reclaim my body and stop trying to change this chest and these hips and these curves that my mum and dad made and love so unconditionally.”
As far back as 2015, Smith shared with NME that they “still feel pressured to look a certain way” and opened up about losing weight but still feeling a “battle” in their head “because of the media”.
People are coming to Smith’s defence
Needless to say, the harmful comments have sparked backlash, with many fans calling out the unacceptable body-shaming.
“I’m not a fan of Sam Smith personally but the sheer hatred for the way they look is UGLY, they literally just exist as themselves and people hate it. Smells like very clear fatphobia, homophobia and transphobia to me,” one person wrote.
“Why do you all hate Sam Smith so much? They’re queer, non-binary and have literally said themselves that they are excited about the rest of their life to be exactly who they are. You don’t have to like their music, just let them live,” another added.
Other fans, meanwhile, took the opportunity to reflect on how Sam’s journey with body confidence has personally helped and inspired them.
“It’s really cool seeing a plus-sized, non-binary person who looks like me finding success. A lot of you are just nasty shallow insecure conceited bullies,” one person wrote.
“It’s actually gross constantly seeing people tear into Sam Smith for their appearance when there’s a lot of us, myself included, who have a similar body type to them,” another added.
“God forbid a queer person dresses/expresses themselves unapologetically, apparently only thin people are allowed.”
Fans are highlighting the double standard between Smith and Harry Styles, who has also performed in a sparkly silver jumpsuit and received huge praise.
“This really is the reality for queer folk,” one person pointed out, “Sam Smith is a gay non-binary performer who has been doing this long before Harry yet there were articles and tweets calling Harry a ‘gay icon’. Let’s not forget to mention Sam is plus-sized.”
