Sam Smith Says Madonna ‘Made Sure She Got Through to Me’ During ‘Unholy’ Controversy: ‘Her Music Is a Lifeline to Queer People’
In an Apple Music interview, Sam Smith reflected on receiving direct personal support from Madonna during the controversy surrounding the 2022 hit 'Unholy,' which generated significant backlash over its provocative imagery and performance aesthetic. Madonna's immediate outreach demonstrated her attentiveness to queer community concerns and her commitment to standing by artists navigating public scrutiny.
Smith emphasized the symbolic weight of Madonna's support given her established role in LGBTQ+ culture. Smith characterizes Madonna's body of work as foundational to queer listeners, attributing this partly to her sustained reinvention as an artist and her longstanding platform for LGBTQ+ advocacy. This mentorship deepened when the two later worked together on 'Vulgar' in 2023, building on Madonna's visible backing of Smith's Grammy performance as an artist who persevered through criticism.
- Madonna personally contacted Sam Smith to offer support during the 'Unholy' backlash, demonstrating engagement with LGBTQ+ community issues
- Smith credits Madonna's career-long artistic reinvention and queer advocacy as central to why her music resonates as culturally vital
- The artists later collaborated on 'Vulgar' following Madonna's public endorsement of Smith at the 2023 Grammy Awards