Sam Smith says 'I’m not a man, I’m not a woman, I’m just me.'
Sam Smith has battled with his body image for years and now he’s sharing his struggle and the realisations that have come out of it in an interview with actress and activist Jameela Jamil.
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In the candid chat he revealed, “I’ve always had a war within my body and mind about how I define myself. I think like a woman in my head and sometimes I’ve sat down and questioned do I want to have a sex change. It’s something that I still think about and I don’t think it is.”
He went on to explain that after reading accounts by people who identify as non-binary genderqueer, he realised “f**k that’s me.”
“Maybe I’m not a man, maybe I’m not a woman, maybe I’m just me.” Adding, “I think it’s the same with sexuality. You fall in love with people not genitals.”
Smith went on to admit that he was literally the only gay in his village – he came out at ten – but didn’t meet another gay man until he was 18. He became famous at the age of 20.
“When it comes to money and success, I feel like I’m 40, but when it comes to my romantic life, I feel like a confused 16-year-old boy.”
He also talked about being fat shamed on social media and in the press, while on holiday in Australia in 2015. “I remember thinking at the time that I didn’t look that bad.” It was an event which led him to lose a dramatic amount of weight. Smith recently reposted the image that caused him so much anxiety on his Twitter feed to reinforce how his approach to himself has changed.
But he went on to admit “my body is the basis of all my sadness. I struggle with it every day. At one point I told my personal trainer that I wanted to look like Tom Hardy – but that’s just not me. “
The interview, which was filmed several months ago was for I Weigh, the movement that Jamil started to help others struggling with their body image. She also opened up about being fat shamed and how it affected it. Ironically, she said it was during a year when she was at her most successful.
Looking back she laughed at the reason she looked so concerned in the photo. “I was running for a food truck” and was scared it would drive away. She has also reposted the image in recent times to the I Weigh Instagram channel.
Sam Smith had a cameo in the Four Weddings and a Funeral reunion for Comic Relief. Providing music along with Nicola Walker for the nuptials of Lily James and Alicia Vikander.
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The musician released an acoustic version of his new single Dancing With A Stranger featuring Normani on Friday.