A woman harassed singer Sam Smith as they strolled in New York City.
Smith appeared to film her and take videos for just a moment as the woman yelled they "belong in hell" and added:
"You demonic, twisted, sick bastard! Leave the kids alone, you sick f**ker! Sam Smith is a pedophile!"
"You sick motherf**ker, Sam Smith! You’re evil!”
You can hear what she said in the video below.
\u201cSam Smith gets heckled in NYC .\n#news #nyc #Wednesday\u201d— Viral News NY (@Viral News NY) 1676513423
Smith is no stranger to these attacks and has faced unrelenting criticism from conservatives in recent weeks.
Last week, conservative Twitter was up in arms over Smith's performance of their song "Unholy" at the Grammy Awards, with many decrying it as an example of "evil" and the purported "Satanism" they claim is thriving in Hollywood and among the "global elite."
Last month, fans stepped up to support Smith after the racy video for "I'm Not Here to Make Friends"—the fourth single from their album 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.
The video prompted many fans to come to Smith's defense and criticize the woman's behavior.
\u201c@ViralNewsNYC the performance wasn\u2019t even that demonic lmao y\u2019all need to chill out \ni love that sam is bothering you all that means they\u2019re doing it right \ud83d\ude18\u201d— Viral News NY (@Viral News NY) 1676513423
\u201c@ViralNewsNYC Nothing like a good Catholic forgetting the commandments. Bet she goes to church every week where pedophile priests were protected for decades. She'll be in the confessional booth for a long time after that obnoxious behavior.\u201d— Viral News NY (@Viral News NY) 1676513423
\u201c@ViralNewsNYC Maybe....this woman should spend some time in jail for public indecency and defamation...like is this not illegal?\u201d— Viral News NY (@Viral News NY) 1676513423
\u201c@ViralNewsNYC absolutely disgusting how people behave\u201d— Viral News NY (@Viral News NY) 1676513423
\u201c@ViralNewsNYC Throwing out baseless accusations because someone isn\u2019t straight. Morons\u201d— Viral News NY (@Viral News NY) 1676513423
\u201c@ViralNewsNYC Disgusting Irish Woman, glad to see Sam not attacking back shows they are the bigger person. People getting riled up in the comments over a person that is not harming them at all\u201d— Viral News NY (@Viral News NY) 1676513423
\u201c@ViralNewsNYC satanic panic is real. republicans are mentally ill\u201d— Viral News NY (@Viral News NY) 1676513423
\u201c@ViralNewsNYC Bunch of snowflakes\u201d— Viral News NY (@Viral News NY) 1676513423
The backlash against Smith offers yet another example of the "groomer" rhetoric that has gripped the right-wing as of late.
Right-wing online discourse has been awash with patently false accusations of LGBTQ+ people of being "groomers" who are explicitly targeting and sexualizing young children, rhetoric that has allowed a wave of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation to sweep the country.
Conservatives have over the last few months employed this rhetoric to make a scapegoat of drag queens and several states have approved or have proposed legislation that would make it crime for children to attend drag shows by classifying them as adult entertainment.
