Sam Smith 'Unholy' Grammy Performance Sparks Backlash From Conservatives: Was It Worse Than THIS?

The Grammy Awards has always been a melting pot of song expression, art, and other creative freedoms that its performing artists have in mind.

Last night at the 2023 Grammy Awards, Sam Smith and Kim Petras sent the Crypto.com Arena into ablaze as they performed their rousing smash hit "Unholy."

The duo, dressed in red, along with their pack, made head turns on the red carpet as they brought a fiery and somewhat hellish spectacle at Music's Biggest Night.

Petras and Smith were nominated in the Best Pop Duo/Group Performance category. They went against Camila Cabello and Ed Sheeran's "Bam Bam," Doja Cat and Post Malone's "I Like You (A Happier Song)," BTS and Coldplay's "My Universe," and ABBA's "Don't Shut Me Down."

At the end of the night, the duo took home the award, sealing Smith's fifth Gramophone and Petras' first. It was quite historic for Petras to win, as she was the first Transgender winner in the said category, which was only established in 2012.

Meanwhile, when the two took the stage to prove that they were the winners of the song, the two set the stage on fire. They brought out cages, satanic imagery, and even Smith wearing horns in their fiery number.

While many seemed to enjoy the racy performance, as expected, the conservatives were alarmed by it.

Particularly, Senator Ted Cruz quote tweeted a video of the song.

"This...is...evil," he said while retweeting conservative podcaster Liz Wheeler who said that "demons are teaching your kids to worship Satan."

Others also took the time to echo Cruz's sentiments, reacting negatively to Sam Smith's "Unholy" Grammy performance.

This was not the first time that conservatives have slammed the GRAMMYs for such imagery.

In 2012, Nicki Minaj offended the Catholic League as she mimicked an exorcism onstage for her "Roman's Revenge" performance at the Grammys.

"None of this was by accident, and all of it was approved by The Recording Academy, which puts on the Grammys. Whether Minaj is possessed is surely an open question, but what is not in doubt is the irresponsibility of The Recording Academy. Never would they allow an artist to insult Judaism or Islam," the statement read.

The song was believed by many to have been the reason why Minaj was blackballed in the subsequent years at the Grammy Awards. On that same night, Minaj was nominated for Best New Artist, among many other categories, but surprisingly lost to Bon Iver, despite being one of the biggest stars of the year.

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Sam Smith, Grammys, Grammy Awards