Fans of Sam Smith have rushed to their defense after Piers Morgan tore into the singer's recent performance.
Smith, 30, has hit headlines over the last few weeks thanks to their live performances of their number one single 'Unholy' - which tells the story of a man in an adulterous relationship.
The Brit has played upon the scandalous subject matter of the song, repeatedly taking to the stage in flamboyant outfits that have a demonic flare.
Back in February, Smith performed the track live at the 65th annual Grammy Awards alongside collaborator Kim Petras. That particular performance received an outpouring of backlash from viewers after Smith opted to perform in a red outfit complete with a horned top hat.
Recently, Smith has sparked polarized views on social media after footage from their highly-anticipated Gloria tour was shared on TikTok - in which the 'Stay With Me' singer dons an all-black ensemble with red and gold detailing. Alongside the corset and puffy sleeves, they also completed the devilish look with fishnets, knee-high boots, a top hat that had multiple red devil horns sticking out of it as well as a diamante-encrusted pitchfork.
Multiple public figures came out with complaints about the get-up - including Andrew Tate, 36, who misgendered the non-binary star as he tweeted: "This is Sam Smith. Why does he need to literally worship the devil as openly and abhorrently as possible to sing his songs?"
British TV personality Piers Morgan has also slammed Smith and their performance, following the tour's London leg where Smith sang at the 02 Arena. During the performance, they took the corset off to appear topless onstage with black tape covering their nipples - something Morgan, 58, discussed during his segment on Talk TV.
"My point about Sam Smith is it's just an orgy, of in my view, a narcissistic self-indulgent deliberately shocking stuff," Morgan said, via Express. "He looks terrible! Why would you do this?"
One of Morgan's guests on the show - radio disk jockey James Barr - pointed out that Morgan shouldn't be so quick to criticize, especially given his well-known friendship with Ozzy Osbourne, who famously bit off the head of a bat on stage in Des Moines, Iowa. While the bat was already dead, and Osbourne had initially assumed that it was made of rubber - an honest mistake - the incident made headlines.
"You're friends with Ozzy Osbourne, right? Ozzy Osbourne ate a bat's head on stage, which could be considered vulgar," Barr said to Morgan, who quickly quipped: "Ozzy Osbourne never did anything like this."
He then added: "You can't seriously think that what we're looking at here is actually anything other than ridiculous, look at him."
"No I think it's absolutely fantastic. I think it's brilliant, I think it's sexy and I think it's individual," Barr responded, in defense of Smith.
Following Morgan's comments, many of Smith's fans took to social media in their defense, with one person writing: "Y'all do realise it's not compulsory to go to the show don't you? You don't have to buy tickets, you don't have to take your children, you don't have to listen to Sam's music. Basically: you do you!"
Someone else argued that the public disapproval of Smith was down to them being plus-sized, and that "skinnier" artists who act the same way don't get as much hate as Smith. "There are skinnier performers who perform the same moves and they don't get called vulgar," they wrote.
What do you think of Smith's recent performances? Let us know in the comments!