Pop Star Sam Smith: My Preferred Gender Pronouns Are ‘They’ and ‘Them’

NEW YORK (AP) — Sam Smith has declared his pronouns “they/them” on social media after coming out as non-binary in what the pop star called his “lifetime of being at war with my gender.”

The English “Too Good at Goodbyes” singer said Friday he’s decided to “embrace myself for who I am, inside and out ….”

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Today is a good day so here goes. I’ve decided I am changing my pronouns to THEY/THEM ❤ after a lifetime of being at war with my gender I’ve decided to embrace myself for who I am, inside and out. I’m so excited and privileged to be surrounded by people that support me in this decision but I’ve been very nervous about announcing this because I care too much about what people think but fuck it! I understand there will be many mistakes and mis gendering but all I ask is you please please try. I hope you can see me like I see myself now. Thank you. P.s. I am at no stage just yet to eloquently speak at length about what it means to be non binary but I can’t wait for the day that I am. So for now I just want to be VISIBLE and open. If you have questions and are wondering what this all means I’ll try my best to explain but I have also tagged below the human beings who are fighting the good fight everyday. These are activists and leaders of the non binary/trans community that have helped me and given me so much clarity and understanding. @tomglitter @munroebergdorf @transnormativity @alokvmenon @katemoross @glamrou @travisalabanza @twyrent @chellaman @jvn @lavernecox @stonewalluk @glaad @humanrightscampaign @mermaidsgender Love you all. I’m scared shitless, but feeling super free right now. Be kind x

A post shared by Sam Smith (@samsmith) on Sep 13, 2019 at 6:57am PDT

The announcement was met with thousands of supportive comments. The 27-year-old Smith said he was excited and privileged for the support. He added he was “very nervous” about the announcement because he cares too much about what people think but decided to go for it.

There were detractors, too, who wondered about Smith’s need to declare pronouns, an increasingly common practice within the LGBTQ community and beyond.

Smith won an Oscar in 2016 for “Writing’s on the Wall,” from “Spectre” and has multiple Grammy Awards.