Conservative Twitter was up in arms over singer Sam Smith's performance of their song "Unholy" at the Grammy Awards over the weekend, with many decrying it as an example of "evil" and the purported "Satanism" they say is thriving in Hollywood and among the "global elite."
"Unholy"—a duo with German singer Kim Petras—is the second single from Smith's fourth studio album Gloria and won the award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, the first time either nonbinary or transgender performers won the coveted prize.
But there was one group that didn't seem happy with the historic feat, let alone Smith's performance while decked out in a satanic top hat as Petras danced in a cage flanked by dominatrixes.
You can see the Grammy performance below.
Indeed, many conservatives have—to put it simply—totally freaked out.
However, many others pushed back against conservative criticisms of Smith's performance.
Petras later told reporters the "Unholy" performance was a commentary on “not being able to choose religion," adding:
“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."
“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.”
Smith is no stranger to criticims from conservatives.
The nonbinary singer was their target as recently as last week.
Fans stepped up to support Smith after the racy video for "I'm Not Here to Make Friends"—the fourth single from Gloria—was criticized by conservatives who complained it showed the unapologetically nonbinary singer wearing a corset and nipple tassels while performing with backup dancers.
Critics said the video was "over-sexualized" and expresssed their discomfort over Smith openly embracing the feminine aspects of their nonbinary identity.
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