Sam Smith Says He Had Liposuction at Age 12: My Body Image 'Is the Basis of All My Sadness'
Sam Smith opened up about his struggles with body image in a new interview with Jameela Jamil, the founder of the “I Weigh” movement.
Smith, 26, revealed to Jamil, 33, that he had liposuction when he was 12 years old and that he’s struggled with his body image “from since I can remember.” The interview was part of the first episode of Jamil’s new Instagram TV show I Weigh Interviews.
The singer (who has previously opened up about his struggles with body image) said that he wanted to do the interview to bring attention to body image issues in men.
“I haven’t really found many men talking about this,” Smith said. “Especially well-known men… Even doing this chat feels kind of weird, because guys don’t speak about this that much on a big scale.”
Smith began by talking about how his struggle with body image began “from since I can remember, like since I was a baby.”
As a child, Smith revealed that he was “chubby” and “carried extra estrogen” in his chest, making him self-conscious to wear a bathing suit and opening him up to bullying, including when a classmate grabbed his chest “on the playground in front of all of his friends.”
“I had breasts,” Smith said.
“I used to get my mom to write a note to the school when I was like 8 so I wouldn’t have to go to swimming lessons. So it’s something that’s been in me forever,” the singer added.
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Smith also revealed that he had liposuction at the age of 12.
“When I was a kid, I was chubby … and then it would get worse and worse and worse and I was holding a lot of weight in my chest. When I hit 11 years old, I went to the doctor’s,” he said. “I was so self-conscious that it was affecting my mood every day.”
“I had liposuction, I was 12 years old,” Smith continued. “At the time I think I was very happy about it. It didn’t really change anything. I think I put the weight back on in two weeks because I hadn’t figured out my relationship with food, so it didn’t really change anything. But being 12 years old and having liposuction on your chest is quite a big deal.”
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Smith added that the body image issues persisted beyond his childhood.
“It’s the basis of all my sadness,” he said. “Literally everything I’ve ever been sad about is my weight. I struggle with it every day.”
“I get very, very dark and very sad,” Smith continued.
On Friday, Smith tweeted that doing the interview with Jamil “completely changed” his life.
A few months ago, I sat down with @jameelajamil and spoke with her for her incredible @_iweigh movement. I know this sounds dramatic but this interview completely changed my life. Watch in full on my IGTV now (please be kind haha) xx pic.twitter.com/IMDLSUayso
— Sam Smith (@samsmith) March 15, 2019
In February, Smith opened up about his “body trauma” in an emotional Instagram post.
“In the past if I have ever done a photoshoot with so much as a t-shirt on, I have starved myself for weeks in advance and then picked and prodded at every picture and then normally taken the picture down,” he wrote.
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“Yesterday I decided to fight the f— back,” he continued. “Reclaim my body and stop trying to change this chest and these hips and these curves that my mum and dad made and love so unconditionally.”
He finished by saying: “I’ll always be at war with this bloody mirror but this shoot and this day was a step in the right f—ing direction.”