Sam Smith has reflected on their decision to come out as non-binary last September.
The Stay With Me hitmaker, 27, said although it has been ‘wonderful’, the decision was also ‘more of a struggle’ than expected due to ‘all the backlash’.
Speaking candidly to James Corden on The Late Late Show, the singer said it has been ‘really hard’ to see the ‘amount of people that are still so unsupportive of gender non-conforming people and trans people’.
Looking back: Sam Smith has revealed that although it has been ‘wonderful’ since they came out as non-binary last year, it was also ‘more of a struggle’ than they expected
They continued: ‘I mean do you know what, all in all it’s been wonderful.
‘I have always felt the way I’ve felt and being able to tell everyone that and feel so much more open about certain parts of my personality and my life, has been absolutely incredible.’
Sam went on to explain how being in the public eye affected their experience, revealing a message they sent to their family ‘got leaked’, which pushed them to publicly come out as non-binary.
The Too Good at Goodbyes singer told James: ‘In a world where I wasn’t a well-known person I would have changed my pronouns and I would have got used to it in a normal way, which I actually tried to do but a message that I sent to my family got leaked weirdly so I had to make a decision to tell everyone and go for it.
‘It’s been amazing but it’s also really, really hard to see all the backlash and the amount of people that are still so unsupportive of gender non-conforming people and trans people all around the world.
Coming out: Speaking to James Corden on CBS’s The Late Late Show, the singer, 27, said it has been ‘hard’ to see how many people are still ‘unsupportive of gender non-conforming people’
‘It’s definitely more of a struggle than I was expecting, but I feel good in my skin which is the prize and the wonderful thing.’
They explained that coming out as non-binary has allowed them to ‘show all different sides of myself musically’ whereas they ‘definitely felt scared’ to reveal their femininity before.
The singer first announced that they were coming out as non-binary on Twitter in September last year, saying they would be changing their pronouns to ‘they/them’.
In an honest flurry of tweets, they wrote: ‘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…
Leaked: Sam explained how being in the public eye affected their experience, as a message they sent to their family ‘got leaked’, which pushed them to publicly come out as non-binary
‘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 f*** 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.’
Sam released their third studio album Love Goes, which was originally titled To Die For, on October 30 after pushing back its release from May.
The star admitted that when Covid-19 hit hit there was a moment when they ‘didn’t want to release the album’ as it was written before the pandemic, when Sam was ‘having a wonderful time’ in West Hollywood.
New album: Sam has been extremely busy promoting their third album Love Goes, including appearances on Strictly, Graham Norton (pictured) and The One Show
They made the decision to go ahead and share the album with their fans during the coronavirus crisis due to the ‘pride’ they felt when listening to it.
But American singer Ariana Grande’s new album Positions beat Sam’s record to the top of the charts on Friday after it sold just over 27,000 records.
Sam stood solidly at number two after selling just over 20,000 copies of their latest album in the first week – but failed to reach the first week’s 97,000 for their 2017 hit, The Thrill Of It All.
Sam has kept busy during lockdown with a hectic schedule promoting their third album, including appearances on Strictly, Graham Norton and The One Show.
Speaking to James, 42, Sam shared what it has been like being stuck indoors amid the Covid crisis, joking that they miss clubbing and ‘sweaty bodies’.
They continued: ‘I miss sweaty bodies James, I really do! I only realised recently that like clubbing for me is like a genuine hobby of mine.
‘It’s how I get my exercise, it’s what I love to do. It’s been good, it’s been nice to have a break but I’m missing to be around people for sure.’
And reflecting on last week’s presidential election, the British singer also said that himself, his family and friends were all ‘so overjoyed’ by the ‘good news’ of Trump’s defeat to Joe Biden.
Nights out: Speaking to James, 42, Sam (pictured in December 2019) shared what it has been like for them during the Covid pandemic, joking that they miss clubbing and ‘sweaty bodies’