Sam Smith: What's behind I'm Not Here to Make Friends backlash?

When idiosyncratic calls their caller way I'm Not Here to Make Friends, they're astir apt expecting a reaction.

And with their latest video, Sam Smith has surely caused a spot of stir.

If you haven't watched it, the vocalist spends astir of it wearing a corset and nipple tassels portion performing immoderate spicy moves with backing dancers.

Some radical deliberation the video is "oversexualised" and privation it to travel with a warning. Others deliberation Sam is simply a unfortunate of double-standards.

The video for I'm Not Here to Make Friends starts with Sam, wearing an tremendous pinkish coat, arriving astatine a distant castle by helicopter.

Once inside, dancers and resistance queens situation the vocalist for a bid of routines.

One country successful peculiar has upset immoderate radical - it shows Sam successful that corset and nipple tassel look, posing suggestively portion being showered with jets of water.

When the video was released it - predictably - took Youtube by storm, flying to the apical of its trending chart,

It wasn't agelong earlier Sam was trending connected Twitter too, with a batch of posts calling the video "vulgar" and saying it was inappropriate for younger viewers.

Youtube's restricted mode blocks the video. But fans accidental it's nary worse than others released by artists, galore of them female, containing suggestive imagery.

Songs similar Anaconda by Nicki Minaj, S&M by Rihanna oregon adjacent Call On Me by Eric Prydz each capitalise connected it.

Those who deliberation Sam has been singled retired person a theory.

In 2019, the vocalist came retired arsenic non-binary and asked fans to usage they/them pronouns. Their caller album, Gloria, afloat embraces LGBTQ+ culture.

"If a pistillate creator had done that nonstop aforesaid video, worn the nonstop aforesaid outfits, nary 1 would bat an eyelid," says resistance queen Pixie Polite.

"I deliberation the outcry conscionable smacks of this benignant of homophobia, queer phobia and transphobia."

There's besides an constituent of fatphobia, says Pixie, arsenic Sam doesn't conform to stereotypical perfect assemblage standards.

Since Sam came retired arsenic non-binary, fans deliberation the vocalist has leaned successful to their individuality and it's had an interaction connected their music.

"Sam Smith's aboriginal enactment was precise palatable to a mainstream audience, due to the fact that they didn't observe their queerness successful the aforesaid way," says Pixie.

"I deliberation this is simply a coming of property infinitesimal for Sam Smith arsenic an artist."

Kenny Ethan Jones, a trans advocator and writer from London, agrees that Sam is entering an epoch of "embracing their queerness".

"It's truly bully to spot Sam truly measurement into themselves," says Kenny.

"I deliberation Sam's doing doing God's enactment essentially, conscionable allowing everybody to beryllium represented and consciousness bully successful their body."

Music video shaper Ashleigh Jadee thinks this effort to enactment queer bodies astatine the centre of the video mightiness beryllium what's sparked the reaction.

Ashleigh says it shows america a mentation of sexuality that we don't often see, which gives it a daze factor, and there's thing caller astir seeing consecutive men and women connected our screens.

For Ashleigh, I'm Not Here to Make Friends didn't basal retired arsenic peculiarly spicy.

She says: "I watched the video and I was a spot like, 'oh, is this it'?

"I tin recognize wherefore immoderate radical mightiness deliberation it's a spot excessively wild. But I deliberation nowadays videos are truly sexualised anyway."

This isn't the archetypal clip an creator has reflected their LGBT individuality successful their work.

Twenty-five years ago, George Michael was arrested by an undercover policeman successful Los Angeles.

He caught the British vocalist performing a enactment enactment successful a nationalist toilet and arrested him for cottaging.

George, who had not revealed his sexuality earlier this, came backmost with the euphony video for his opus Outside - which featured dancers simulating enactment successful nationalist and a batch of leather.

And earlier that, determination was Relax by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, released successful 1983.

The set had to marque 2 videos for the song, arsenic the archetypal was acceptable successful a gay, S&M-themed nightclub and allegedly banned from TV.

And the BBC refused to play the opus aft 1 of it apical DJs astatine the time, Mike Read, branded it "obscene".

"The tide of advancement ever ebbs and flows," says Pixie.

"You volition ever person a flimsy propulsion backmost earlier you past tin determination guardant again and I deliberation the civilization warfare that's happening astatine the infinitesimal astir queer radical and trans people, is decidedly that pushback."

"The slogan 'we're here, we're queer, get utilized to it', I deliberation it's arsenic applicable contiguous arsenic it has ever been," says Pixie.

Kenny say's he's arrogant of Sam for confidently showcasing their individuality successful the video and their caller album.

"It's unfortunate that radical who pave the mode get the astir hate, but fundamentally we person to bash it," says Kenny.

"If we don't propulsion through, and get done this mucky epoch past we're ne'er going to marque progress."

Listen to Newsbeat live astatine 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - oregon perceive backmost here.