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Controversial Performance By Sam Smith At 2023 Grammys Sparks Outrage
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Conservative commentators didn't like Sam Smith's performance at the 2023 Grammys, which was based on the idea of hell. Some went so far as to call it "satanic."
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Ted Cruz, a senator from Texas, called the production "evil" after Sam Smith and Kim Petras performed their hit song "Unholy" at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Sunday night.The Republican politician tweeted, "This is bad."
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Some people on social media were quick to call Cruz out, though. One person wrote, "Evil is when a man walks into a school and kills 12 children."
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Evil is when Russia bombs schools and hospitals to take land. Evil is NOT when a musician performs a hit song while dressed as the devil.
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Some people thought the performance was like "worshipping the devil."One person tweeted, "This video hits all the checkpoints, from Sam Smith's strange view on what is culturally appropriate to devil worshipping and making religion less important."
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Smith and Petras, who are both 30, made history at the event, even though they were criticised.The singer of "Latch," who uses "they/them" pronouns, was the first non-binary artist to win in the Best Pop Duo/Group Performance category. The German pop singer was the first trans woman to win the award.
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In a statement to Page Six, Anthony Allen Ramos, vice president of communications and talent at GLAAD, said, "By giving Grammys to queer artists from so many different parts of the LGBTQ community and from so many different musical genres, the Recording Academy showed the world how important LGBTQ people are when it comes to making music."
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Smith is no stranger to receiving backlash,particularly from right-wing commentators.Diehard fans recently defended the "Stay With Me" singer after they were criticised for their sexy, barely-there costumes in their "I'm Not Here to Make Friends" music video.
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In the clip, Smith looks amazing in a bunch of daring outfits by designer Christian Cowan, like a showgirl-style feather headdress and corsets with nipple pasties and high-slit skirts that are studded with jewels.
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Some critics called the images "vile and evil" and said that Smith "wore their sexuality like a costume and shoved it in everyone's face."
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One of the entertainer's fans wrote, "If Sam Smith were thin, cis, and straight, they wouldn't be made fun of for how they look and present themselves."