Sam Smith recently released a music video that has been the topic of discussion for millions of fans worldwide. The video, which contains a lot of Not Safe for Work Content (NSFW), has brought debates on whether only straight people should express their sexuality.
Smith, who is in binary, has recently released his album, Gloria. The album contains the controversial song, ‘I’m Not Here to Make Friends.’ The music video is explicit and shows many suggestive scenes. This includes sexual outfits such as one where Smith is bare-chested with nipple pasties on. Their background dancers are also scantily clad.
People think the video should have age restrictions on YouTube
One thing people find disturbing is that the video is up on YouTube with no age restrictions. For this reason, young children could easily access the video. Others have referred to it as degrading, and others felt that the video is not empowering as Smith might have intended. Instead, they believe it to be monstrous.
The video has caused the most uproar from conservatives, who believe that the video is too easy for children to access. Other right-wingers think that the video is suggestive for the sake of it, yet Smith pretends that it is to empower the LGBTQ+ community and promotes body positivity.
Some critics view the video as the effects of Hollywood culture, which they view as degenerate. They believe that the culture has made celebrities hypersexualized, vulgar, and obsessed with parading their sexuality and shoving it in people’s faces. However, it is more concerning that many young children idolize celebrities like Smith.
Supporters of Smith argue against the hypocrisy
Despite the negativity, Smith’s video has a lot of supporters. Many people now say that cisgender celebrities have been allowed to make these videos for years and have not faced the same backlash that Smith, a nonbinary individual, has. Therefore, the strong reactions against Smith might be misplaced and misguided. Many believe that the video would have gone under the radar if a nonbinary person didn’t make it, as it is tamer than sexual videos that cisgender people make.
Other supporters believe that the singer is paving the way for other LGBTQ+ people that need the message of body positivity. In addition, fans believe that the idea that people who don’t fit into current beauty standards can’t express themselves isn’t fair.
They also argue that although the song isn’t suitable for young children, artists shouldn’t be responsible for making music that caters solely to them. Instead, parents should be more aware of the content their children consume on the internet.
Alex Philips calls the video pornographic
Fans aren’t the only ones who’ve commented on the music video. Some big names have come out to give their opinions, including Alex Philips, the former MEP of the Brexit Party. In a Good Morning Britain interview, the politician blamed the video for declining relationships and sexual assaults. She goes as far as to call the video photographic, which fans say is not an accurate description of Smith’s work.
Smith is not the first to face backlash over a music video
Smith is not the only musician that has faced backlash for sexual music. Others include Lil Nas for his song Call Me By Your Name and Cardi B and Meghan There Stallion for WAP. People have in common that they are both part of underrepresented groups, either in the LGBTQ+ community or women of color.
There are older examples of singers making music videos that were controversial in their time. For example, when Madonna released the video for her song Like a Prayer, it faced a lot of controversy from religious groups, and the pope denounced the song a day after the release of the video.
Smith hasn’t made any comments about the reactions to their video.
