In Sam Smith’s new music video, “I’m Not Here to Make Friends,” the non-binary superstar flaunts their genderqueer sense of style – donning elaborate gowns that would make 1990s-era Cher envious – in a display of personal sexuality that stopped being considered “shocking” for straight artists around the time Madonna recorded “Papa Don’t Preach.”
However, Smith’s celebration of their ever-evolving sexuality has shocked some of the more sheltered corners of social media, causing an outpouring of grief among the types of Twitter conservatives who never would have bought Smith’s albums in the first place. It’s a backlash similar to that which pop superstar Harry Styles faced in 2020 after appearing in drag on the cover of Vogue. And his audience was so offended that he’s been forced to get more famous than ever, with his latest punishment being receiving the role of Starfox in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Warning: Some of these tweets are way more graphic and sexual than the video they’re responding to.
British Christian Conservative commentator Oli London managed to take a GIF out of context, making one wonder what his Google Search history looks like:
While this Twitter weirdo is projecting a fantasy onto Smith:
And this Deacon apparently doesn’t get enough work in his church and had time to tweet an entire rant:
Meanwhile Twitter’s own Mikey Walsh reminds us that if anything, Smith’s biggest sin might be that his act is a little stale:
In any case, as Madonna proved back in the mid-1980s, whether they buy your albums to listen to or to burn, at the end of the day they’re still supporting you.