Sam Smith has spoken out about the physical and verbal abuse he’s experienced over the course of his life for being gay.
The singer told The Sun he was attacked by strangers on the street shortly after moving to London. He said:
When I moved to London I got punched in the neck walking back from work. It was definitely homophobic. I was on the phone speaking quite loudly and had pink headphones on, so it was pretty clear I was gay.
He went on to reveal that he was bullied at school for being gay from the age of 11:
A bunch of boys from a rival school would shout insults at me as I walked from my home to the train station. I remember walking to the station getting “f*****” shouted at me all the time. It was the most mortifying thing. Not so much for me. I knew these people were stupid, uneducated twats.
Smith said he had faced bullying from the gay community too, and that his “whole world crashed” during his first experience at a gay club.
When I was 17 I decided to go gay clubbing in Soho in London. I remember walking in and this gay guy turned to his mate and said something really nasty about me. My whole world just crashed and I had a really lonely feeling. I knew then it was going to take a lot longer to be accepted. There’s a lot of homophobia and bullying in the gay community. There’s also a lot of body dysmorphia in the gay community, which means if you’re not toned and skinny it can be awful.
Smith has spoken in the past about how he wants to use his music to help and inspire young gay people.
I’m just trying to make music that stands the test of time. So that, in 400 years, when a little kid who’s gay listens to In The Lonely Hour, or my next record, he will be inspired. I want to be a different type of popstar. I want to be a popstar who’s not Photoshopped, who’s a straight-on human. Honesty is timeless.
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