Ted Cruz declares Sam Smith's Grammys performance 'evil'

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By Asiya Ali

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Texas Senator Ted Cruz has branded Sam Smith and Kim Petras' performance at the 2023 Grammy awards "evil".

At the prestigious music ceremony, the singers, both 30, performed a live rendition of their song 'Unholy' - which ascended to Number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in October.

During the performance, the stage was illuminated with red lighting, pyrotechnics, dancers performing in metal cages, and Smith was seen donning a hat with horns.

Prior to the spectacle, music icon Madonna introduced the duo by saying: "Are you ready for a little controversy?" She then added: "Here’s what I’ve learned after four decades in music. If they call you shocking, scandalous, troublesome, problematic, provocative, or dangerous, you are definitely onto something," per The Independent.

Watch Smith and Petras' performance below: 

After the award ceremony, many conservatives like the 52-year-old Republican senator took to their social media pages to call out the 'Stay With Me' singer's performance.

On Twitter, Cruz retweeted quotes slamming Smith’s performance as "satanic," and added: "This is… evil," in response to commentator Liz Wheeler's post that read: "Don’t fight the culture wars, they say. Meanwhile, demons are teaching your kids to worship Satan. I could throw up."

Matt Walsh, who is another right-wing political commentator, also remarked: "It’s not surprising to see a satanic ritual at the Grammys."

"Satanism is the worship of the self. Much of modern pop music is satanic in this sense. Leftism is satanism. The only change is that now they’re being more explicit about it," he continued.

"Theological satanism is not very common but the worship of the self -- what we might call secular satanism -- is the predominant religion in our culture and most of the art we produce is meant to preach this gospel," the 36-year-old added.

Before the pair's controversial performance, they appeared on the red carpet and a reporter from Associated Press (AP) shared their thoughts on their outfits, saying (cited by The Independent): "Sam Smith has had a lot of controversy around his outfits this past year."

"I love that he's continuing to push the mold, love that he's continuing to break out from the Sam Smith that we knew at the ballads," the reporter said. "He's still singing those ballads, but he's definitely diving fully in, into pop music, and we can see that, not only in his music but also in his looks as well."

Many journalists from other publications also repeatedly misgendered the 'Gloria' musician so fans took to their social media platforms to share their outrage.

One angry user wrote: "Sam Smith continuously being misgendered makes me so upset like it's been YEARS since they came out why are ppl still being ignorant and transphobic it's awful."

In lighter news, Smith and Petras won the Grammy for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for their song, and the 'Close Your Eyes' musician made history as the first-ever openly trans woman to receive a Grammy award.

Featured image credit: UPI / Alamy

Ted Cruz declares Sam Smith's Grammys performance 'evil'

vt-author-image

By Asiya Ali

Article saved!Article saved!

Texas Senator Ted Cruz has branded Sam Smith and Kim Petras' performance at the 2023 Grammy awards "evil".

At the prestigious music ceremony, the singers, both 30, performed a live rendition of their song 'Unholy' - which ascended to Number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in October.

During the performance, the stage was illuminated with red lighting, pyrotechnics, dancers performing in metal cages, and Smith was seen donning a hat with horns.

Prior to the spectacle, music icon Madonna introduced the duo by saying: "Are you ready for a little controversy?" She then added: "Here’s what I’ve learned after four decades in music. If they call you shocking, scandalous, troublesome, problematic, provocative, or dangerous, you are definitely onto something," per The Independent.

Watch Smith and Petras' performance below: 

After the award ceremony, many conservatives like the 52-year-old Republican senator took to their social media pages to call out the 'Stay With Me' singer's performance.

On Twitter, Cruz retweeted quotes slamming Smith’s performance as "satanic," and added: "This is… evil," in response to commentator Liz Wheeler's post that read: "Don’t fight the culture wars, they say. Meanwhile, demons are teaching your kids to worship Satan. I could throw up."

Matt Walsh, who is another right-wing political commentator, also remarked: "It’s not surprising to see a satanic ritual at the Grammys."

"Satanism is the worship of the self. Much of modern pop music is satanic in this sense. Leftism is satanism. The only change is that now they’re being more explicit about it," he continued.

"Theological satanism is not very common but the worship of the self -- what we might call secular satanism -- is the predominant religion in our culture and most of the art we produce is meant to preach this gospel," the 36-year-old added.

Before the pair's controversial performance, they appeared on the red carpet and a reporter from Associated Press (AP) shared their thoughts on their outfits, saying (cited by The Independent): "Sam Smith has had a lot of controversy around his outfits this past year."

"I love that he's continuing to push the mold, love that he's continuing to break out from the Sam Smith that we knew at the ballads," the reporter said. "He's still singing those ballads, but he's definitely diving fully in, into pop music, and we can see that, not only in his music but also in his looks as well."

Many journalists from other publications also repeatedly misgendered the 'Gloria' musician so fans took to their social media platforms to share their outrage.

One angry user wrote: "Sam Smith continuously being misgendered makes me so upset like it's been YEARS since they came out why are ppl still being ignorant and transphobic it's awful."

In lighter news, Smith and Petras won the Grammy for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for their song, and the 'Close Your Eyes' musician made history as the first-ever openly trans woman to receive a Grammy award.

Featured image credit: UPI / Alamy