Last week it was reported that British singer, Sam Smith, requested to be referred to as "they" not "he", six months after confirming a non-binary identity.

According to The Sun, the 27-year-old asked family and friends to make the change, as Smith thanked Hits Radio presenter James Barr on Twitter for referring to the performer as "they".

"Just interviewed @samsmith and they sounded so happy and free and more themselves than ever. it’s made me feel like the world is a good place again," Barr tweeted Smith.

"You’re one of the first people to use these pronouns with me. Thank you. That feels really beautiful," the singer replied. 

Smith later confirmed the change on Twitter. "Today is a good day so here goes. I’ve decided I am changing my pronouns to THEY/THEM [...] after a lifetime of being at war with my gender I’ve decided to embrace myself for who I am, inside and out..." they wrote.

"I’m so excited and privileged to be surrounded by people that support me in this decision but I’ve been very nervous about announcing this because I care too much about what people think but f*ck it!" they continued.

"I understand there will be many mistakes and mis gendering but all I ask is you please please try. I hope you can see me like I see myself now. Thank you.

P.s. I am at no stage just yet to eloquently speak at length about what it means to be non binary but I can’t wait for the day that I am. So for now I just want to be VISIBLE and open. If you have questions and are wondering what this all means I’ll try my best to explain..."

However, the Associated Press apparently misgendered Smith when reporting their pronoun change. In a screengrab posted to Twitter by non-binary journalist, @ashleycdye, the publication refers to the singer using male pronouns seven times in three paragraphs.

"And now @AP finally corrects (without a clarification/correction line) ... by writing around it and waiting until the last paragraphs to use they for Sam Smith. OK, still bad!" the journalist captioned a follow-up tweet. 

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/ashleycdye/status/1172606942725988353?s=20]]
Smith has previously spoken of "the war" of finding their identity. In an interview with GQ they elaborated;

"Ever since I was a little boy, ever since I was a little human, I didn’t feel comfortable being a man really. I never really did.

Some days I’ve got my manly side and some days I’ve got my womanly side, but it’s when I’m in the middle of that switch that I get really, really depressed and sad. Because I don’t know who I am or where I am or what I’m doing, and I feel very misunderstood by myself. I realised that’s because I don’t fit into either.

I was with my mum last night and she said something so beautiful: ‘I’m so relieved that you and me and your whole family have a way to explain this, because it’s also been eating me up your whole life.’

Because my mum could see it and that it was a torture going on in my mind."

Last week it was reported that British singer, Sam Smith, requested to be referred to as "they" not "he", six months after confirming a non-binary identity.

According to The Sun, the 27-year-old asked family and friends to make the change, as Smith thanked Hits Radio presenter James Barr on Twitter for referring to the performer as "they".

"Just interviewed @samsmith and they sounded so happy and free and more themselves than ever. it’s made me feel like the world is a good place again," Barr tweeted Smith.

"You’re one of the first people to use these pronouns with me. Thank you. That feels really beautiful," the singer replied. 

Smith later confirmed the change on Twitter. "Today is a good day so here goes. I’ve decided I am changing my pronouns to THEY/THEM [...] after a lifetime of being at war with my gender I’ve decided to embrace myself for who I am, inside and out..." they wrote.

"I’m so excited and privileged to be surrounded by people that support me in this decision but I’ve been very nervous about announcing this because I care too much about what people think but f*ck it!" they continued.

"I understand there will be many mistakes and mis gendering but all I ask is you please please try. I hope you can see me like I see myself now. Thank you.

P.s. I am at no stage just yet to eloquently speak at length about what it means to be non binary but I can’t wait for the day that I am. So for now I just want to be VISIBLE and open. If you have questions and are wondering what this all means I’ll try my best to explain..."

However, the Associated Press apparently misgendered Smith when reporting their pronoun change. In a screengrab posted to Twitter by non-binary journalist, @ashleycdye, the publication refers to the singer using male pronouns seven times in three paragraphs.

"And now @AP finally corrects (without a clarification/correction line) ... by writing around it and waiting until the last paragraphs to use they for Sam Smith. OK, still bad!" the journalist captioned a follow-up tweet. 

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/ashleycdye/status/1172606942725988353?s=20]]
Smith has previously spoken of "the war" of finding their identity. In an interview with GQ they elaborated;

"Ever since I was a little boy, ever since I was a little human, I didn’t feel comfortable being a man really. I never really did.

Some days I’ve got my manly side and some days I’ve got my womanly side, but it’s when I’m in the middle of that switch that I get really, really depressed and sad. Because I don’t know who I am or where I am or what I’m doing, and I feel very misunderstood by myself. I realised that’s because I don’t fit into either.

I was with my mum last night and she said something so beautiful: ‘I’m so relieved that you and me and your whole family have a way to explain this, because it’s also been eating me up your whole life.’

Because my mum could see it and that it was a torture going on in my mind."