Right at the beginning of the video for Sam Smith's new song "I'm Not Here To Make Friends" it's clear what viewers can expect: extravagance and pomp. Smith arrives in a golden helicopter. Dressed in a pink tulle dress, the artist makes his way to a magnificent castle.
There Smith gets rid of the pink robe and appears in a no less extravagant suit dress with a leg slit, before Smith then almost completely peels off his clothes and only wears lingerie with a bodice. And that's where the problem begins for some.
The video for the song caused an uproar as soon as it was released. The depiction of nudity and sexual acts went too far for critics of the non-binary star. Mainly because YouTube did not put an age limit on the four-minute clip. Journalist Alex Phillips gave her opinion on the video on the breakfast show Good Morning Britain. And she didn't mince words. "The point is that teenagers and young people are the audience that looks at these things and there is no ban on them. They are freely accessible on YouTube and TikTok," she said.
"We now live in a time where porn has become so normal. It's in music videos, in fashion that's marketed to teenagers, and we also live in a time where we know that people in the being sexually assaulted at school," said Phillips, who was particularly bothered by the sado-maso nuances in the video. Her criticism has nothing to do with Sam Smith's outfits, she clarified.
Phillips is not alone in this opinion. "What the hell is this disturbing content? The UK government bans a man like [Andrew] Tate who promotes hard work and fitness from attending schools, but no one is speaking out against this degenerate man who is giving this crap to the youth They call it 'art'. It should be banned and so should he," tweeted athlete Tam Khan, who didn't mention in his tweet that Andrew Tate has been accused of human trafficking.
Others see something completely different in the criticism of the video. "Let's face it: Sam Smith is being criticized [...] for homophobia, queerphobia and transphobia," tweeted feminist Dr. Charlotte Proudman. In another tweet, Proudman explained why she found the criticism hypocritical: "If a straight, white pop star did what Sam Smith did, there wouldn't be a problem. People just don't like that Sam is queer, plus size and That too without prejudice. A few typical examples: Christina Aguilera in 'Dirrty', Miles Cyrus in 'Wrecking Ball' and Madonna in 'Like a Prayer'."
The LGBTQ news site "Pink News" made a similar statement in a tweet. "Sam Smith's new music video is an outspoken celebration of queer sex and queer bodies. Not surprisingly, the fanatics are excited, but that's not holding the non-binary icon one bit back," they wrote of Smith.
Sam Smith is unlikely to be bothered by the controversy. "I'm Not Here To Make Friends," sings the star.
Source used: Twitter / "Daily Mail"
