“Pornography extreme”, “vulgar”, “Hypersexualized” is the kind of reaction to Sam Smith’s new music video. Still, the video isn’t much different from what popular artists have released in recent years. Rather, Smith’s gender identity and appearance are disruptive here, many netizens respond.
Sam Smith has released the music video for his single “I’m Not Here to Make Friends” to coincide with the release of his new album “Gloria”. The clip features Smith in extravagant outfits, including a matching nipple-drop corset, as well as numerous dancers and extras, including French drag queen La Big Bertha in a luxurious castle.
It’s not the first time we’ve seen dancers in leather pants or champagne bottles splashing in their faces in a music video. However, I’m Not Here to Make Friends reacted strongly to some media and English-speaking netizens.
“It is neither good nor healthy for our society”
Good Morning Britain guest journalist Alex Phillips said the music video was reminiscent of “extreme pornography” with its references to BDSM culture.
According to the former Brexit Party MEP, the video normalizes pornography, which would lead to “a rise in sexual assault and the breakdown of relationships”. She says: “It’s not good or healthy for our society and it is [le vidéoclip] a symptom.
• Also read: Queer people tell us why they don’t want to be in the office
Alex Philips worries that this type of content is accessible to young people online: “It’s nice to block kids from seeing it, but they’ve got tablets and phones, they’ll see.”
She’s not the only one calling for the clip to be blocked on YouTube for users under the age of 18. Oli London, a British web personality who became known for his numerous cosmetic surgeries to mimic the face of one of the members of the K-pop group BTS, also said on Twitter: “Kids as young as 5 can search and watch [la vidéo] without restriction ! […] It’s tremendous!”
YouTube has no age restriction for Sam Smith’s demeaning, sexualized new music video.
5 year olds can look this up and watch with no content restrictions!
Sam Smith, this is not art. That’s not trendy. That doesn’t empower. This is outrageous! #SamSmith pic.twitter.com/NoDec6rtEE
—Oli London (@OliLondonTV) January 28, 2023
Other netizens have compared the British artist to the controversial Andrew Tate, who faces human trafficking charges in Romania. “Andrew Tate is in jail for free and this man isn’t? Disgusting,” one tweeted.
Badly screwed up, tired of seeing people trying to force this on everyone. The block is clearly mentally ill. Children will see that too. Andrew Tate is in jail for nothing and this man isn’t? abominable. https://t.co/r2IGdefP9F
– Matt (@mztty) January 29, 2023
“Sam Smith is the perfect example of what degenerate Hollywood culture is doing to people,” tweeted Dominique Samuels, a conservative political commentator. “It makes celebrities vulgar, hypersexualized and obsessed with their sexuality, which they wear like a costume […]»
Sam Smith is a perfect example of what degenerate Hollywood culture does to people.
It makes celebrities vulgar, hypersexualized and obsessed with wearing their sexuality like a costume and shoving it in everyone’s face.
And to make matters worse, kids look up to this man! pic.twitter.com/0xpUryCl3a
—Dominique Samuels (@Dominiquetaegon) January 28, 2023
homophobia and grossophobia
However, according to several commentators and netizens, what sets Sam Smith’s clip apart from other well-known artists isn’t its content, but rather its gender identity and appearance. Smith, who uses the pronoun iel, came out as a non-binary person in 2019.
• Also read: When inclusivity is just a marketing argument
With transgender rights contested in both the UK and US, and queer people regularly accused of perverting youth in right-wing media, it’s no wonder someone was suggestively staged in a shocking clip, says journalist Daisy Jones in a column for British Vogue.
Sex has always been a running theme in modern popular music, and music videos often flaunt it.
But Sam Smith committed the offense of being a) queer and b) not being skinny, and that cannot be tolerated in an increasingly anti-LGBTQ culture.
— Owen Jones (@OwenJones84) January 30, 2023
Smith’s performance was also cited to explain the outrage. The alluring staging would not have elicited a response “if Smith had been thin and cisgender,” argues a culture commentator in The Independent.
Several netizens also raised the issue in order to defend the British artist against criticism that came not only from conservative commentators. “If Harry Styles wore the same thing on a magazine cover you would have screamed ‘YAS QUEEN’,” one user tweeted, explaining the double standard we use to judge queer and fat people.
If Sam Smith were skinny, cis, and straight, they wouldn’t be mocked for the way they present themselves and dress. If Harry Styles wore the same fits on a magazine cover you’d be screaming YAS QUEEN. Anyway, support fat queer people.
— Mae Murray (@maemurrayxo) January 30, 2023
See also: