Sam Smith defended amid criticism for ‘raunchy’ new music video for 'I'm Not Here To Make Friends'

'Unholy' singer Sam Smith must be protected at all costs, especially when they’re facing criticism for the content of their new music video, 'I’m Not Here To Make Friends'.

Smith marked the release of their latest album Gloria on Friday by uploading a video for the track, which is a collaboration with producer and musician Calvin Harris and the Canadian singer-songwriter Jessie Reyez.

The four-minute film begins with Smith exiting a golden helicopter in a glamorous, fluffy pink dress, before dancing on a staircase in an all-black outfit complete with a feathered headdress.

However, it appears the main upset from people averse to the idea of fun and glamour is what follows, when Smith can be seen sporting sparkly headwear and gloves along with a corset.

As the singer dances away, the camera cuts to dancers in revealing outfits relieving themselves into golden urinals while moving their buttocks. Water later sprays over them and the troupe, before Smith is seen with the liquid going straight into their open mouth.

The video has sparked plenty of discussion on social mediaSam Smith

So the music video is obviously queer and sexualised – hardly unusual given other iconic videos which have been a little more on the raunchy side – but some Twitter users have become upset over the four minutes of footage, branding it “vulgar” and “disgusting”.

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Others have also whined around the possibility of children seeing the video on YouTube.

Thankfully, plenty of individuals were on hand to defend the star, who came out as non-binary and changed their pronouns to they/them in 2019.

“If you are worried about your kids seeing the Sam Smith video then might I suggest not giving them unsupervised internet access and not expecting famous strangers to do your job for you,” commented journalist Rebecca Reid.

Another remarked: “Nobody raises an eyebrow when a cis woman makes a sexualised music video. The straight men getting upset about Sam Smith are showing their misogyny, homophobia and transphobia.”

“My mum showed me Aliens when I was seven, I don’t think a Sam Smith video is gonna destroy the lives of kids,” joked comedian Sooz Kempner.

There’s also the fact that other music videos have been released in the past which were just as sexualised, with Twitch streamer Limmy tweeting a section of the video for the Frankie Goes to Hollywood track, 'Relax'.

The club classic 'Call on Me' by Eric Prydz has been cited as another example, which famously featured a group of girls dancing on yoga mats.

Smith themselves appeared to clap back at the criticism on Sunday, sharing a photo of them in an outfit from the shoot with the caption “never too much”.

They did say they’re not here to make friends, after all…

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