Sam Smith is being slammed online for their recent “satanic” and “grotesque” tour performance.
The performer — who is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns — was criticized for the show named “Gloria the Tour” following the success of their fourth studio album of the same name.
Their stage outfits include devil horns, nipple tassels and wire crowns.
“Last night Sam Smith performed a satanic show filled with sexual references, fetish gear, a strip tease and a grotesque imitation of sex acts on stage while children were in the audience,” internet personality Oli London tweeted.
“On stage he performed a strip routine while in fetish gear,” London continued. “Is this appropriate for kids?”
“[Sam Smith] is a disgusting satanic pervert,” tweeted another critic. “Any serious society would give this demon the Old Yeller treatment.”
It’s not the first time the “Stay With Me” singer has been criticized for their stage performance this year.
In February, Smith performed their song “Unholy” alongside collaborator Kim Petras at the 2023 Grammy Awards, wearing similar costumes.
The rendition of their smash single raised the ire of some conservative politicians, including Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who denounced the performance as “evil.”
Some social media users were quick to hit back at Cruz, however, with one person replying, “Evil is when a man walks into a school & murders a dozen children Evil is when Russia bombs schools & hospitals to steal land Evil is NOT when a musician dances around in a devil suit performing a hit song.”
Smith was also lambasted for their sexy Christian Cowan-designed costumes in the “I’m Not Here to Make Friends” music video, which included bedazzled corsets with nipple pasties.
Some blasted the visuals as “vile and evil” and accused Smith of “wearing their sexuality like a costume and shoving it in everyone’s face.”
The entertainer’s followers were quick to defend the singer, with one fan writing, “If Sam Smith were thin, cis, and straight, they wouldn’t be ridiculed for how they present and dress.”
