Pop star Sam Smith, who describes himself as non-binary, peformed a BDSM Devil-themed rendition of his song “Unholy” at the Grammys on Sunday night, complete with red leather suits, flames, and cartoonish devil horns.
Leading up to Sunday’s performance, Sam Smith promised that it would likely anger Christians and cause protests at CBS for what he described as satanic imagery. As it turns out, the imagery was just a few items of clothing removed from a Looney Tunes episode.
Take a look.
As Showbiz 411 reported, sources said that the performance would “make a lot of people very upset.”
“I guarantee there will be calls to CBS from outraged Christians,” a source close to Smith said.
Smith’s source said that the singer would “playing Satan” and that “there will be a lot of devil type stuff, devil worship, and ‘pyrotechnics like you’ve never seen.'”
“It’s over the top and really crazy,” the source said.
If by “over the top,” the source meant cartoonish, kitschy, and cliche, then they would be right.
Prior to the performance, Sam Smith and Kim Petras, a man living as a woman, accepted the award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and the media has since been hailing it as a “historic” moment.
“Sam graciously wanted me to accept this award because I’m the first transgender woman to win this award,” Petras said as the audience applauded uproariously.
“I just want to thank all the incredible transgender legends before me, who kicked these doors open for me,” Petras continued before going on to thank Madonna for “fighting for LGBTQ rights.”
“I grew up next to a highway in nowhere Germany and my mother believed me that I was a girl,” Petras told the crowd. “And I wouldn’t be here without her and her support.”
Sam Smith also raised controversy with the release of his music video for the song “I’m Not Here to Make Friends” due to its highly sexualized imagery with no warning or censorship for children.