Sam Smith's 'raunchy' music video sparks controversy: Critics slam ... trends now
Sam Smith has sparked a row over 'hyper-sexualised' dancing in their new music video with critics arguing it is 'normalising pornography' in pop culture - but fans claim it is 'empowering'.
The singer, 30, released the video for their track I'm Not Here To Make Friends, part of their new album Gloria, last week.
But Smith has been slammed over the 'raunchy' video, which shows them arriving at a castle in a helicopter before dancing alongside a large number of performers wearing corsets, suspenders and nipple tassels.
In other scenes, the dancers are filmed slowly thrusting on a bed wearing only black leather underwear and surround Smith, who is non-binary and uses the pronouns they/them, while dancing provocatively.
Sam Smith is seen wearing a corset, suspenders and nipple tassels in his new music video for I'm Not Here To Make Friends
Appearing on ITV's Good Morning Britain today, journalist Alex Phillips said the music video was 'unhealthy' for society.
She added: 'We live an age now where porn is becoming so normalised. It is in music videos, it is in fast fashion that is being marketed to teens and we also live in an age where we know that people are getting sexually assaulted at school.
'You are having to have websites where people are saying "I am going through these terrible experiences". You have got filth going on in WhatsApp groups among police officers.
'I don't think it is a coincidence that the reporting of things like sexual assaults and sexual attacks, relationships falling apart, the swipe left and swipe right generation. it is bad, it is unhealthy, it is not good for society and this is a symptom of it.'
Meanwhile, radio presenter Shivani Dave defender the singer, claiming that past stars such as Madonna would not have received such criticism if they had released such a video.
She said: 'Miley Cyrus has done this, Nicki Minaj has done this, - so many people have done this. What I think the difference here is that Sam Smith was assigned male at birth and we are not used to seeing people who are assigned male at birth dancing around in lingerie and corsets and things like that.
Dave added: 'Madonna has done that. There
