Grammy-winner Sam Smith was slammed on Twitter last night for his performance of “Unholy” during the Grammy Awards ceremony, which some called “satanic.”
Madonna, who is known for pushing boundaries, introduced the fiery performance, saying, “If they call you shocking, scandalous, problematic, provocative or dangerous, you are definitely onto something,” per People.
During the performance of “Unholy,” Smith and Kim Petras both wore all-red ensembles and mid-performance, Smith added a cane and horned top hat to his look. The stage had a wash of red light and gave out bursts of fire where Petras danced in a cage. Both artists were accompanied by backup dancers.
Following the performance, Grammy’s host Trevor Noah faked a phone call to his mom, saying, “No, mom, it wasn’t the actual devil. ... Yeah, you did warn me about Hollywood.” He added, “She says she will be praying for all of us.”
But Twitter did not take the performance as lightly as Noah. Many users labeled the performance as “satanic” and “evil.”
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz was one of the first to comment on Smith’s performance in a tweet. He wrote, “This…is…evil.”
What is Twitter saying about Sam Smith’s Grammy performance?
Twitter users are slamming the “Unholy” performance, calling it “a tribute to Satan.”
Some fans defended Smith’s Grammy performance
Not everyone on Twitter considered Smith’s performance “evil” — some fans defended the singer.
What has Petras said about ‘Unholy’?
Kim Petras, who became the first transgender woman to win a Grammy award last night, said the performance was inspired by not feeling accepted by religion, per Variety.
“I think a lot of people, honestly, have kind of labeled what I stand for and what Sam stands for as religiously not cool, and I personally grew up wondering about religion and wanting to be a part of it but slowly realizing it didn’t want me to be a part of it,” she said.
“So it’s a take on not being able to choose religion. And not being able to live the way that people might want you to live, because as a trans person I’m already not kind of wanted in religion. So we were doing a take on that and I was kind of hellkeeper Kim,” said Petras, per Variety.