Grammy Awards: Sam Smith-Kim Petras's 'Unholy' performance vexes conservatives
What's the story
The magical musical night of the Grammys unfolded with a lot of surprises! On one hand, the world celebrated the historic achievement of legendary singer Beyoncé who became the most-decorated artist with a record-breaking 32 Grammy Awards, on the other hand, musicians Sam Smith and Kim Petras's fierce performance outraged some. By the end of the night, the annual trolling of Grammys continued apace!
Context
Why does this story matter?
During the award ceremony on Sunday, the Unholy singers delivered a rousing performance of their hit single, which received huge applause from the audience. While Smith donned a bright red dress from head to toe with devil horns sticking out on the top, Petras, on the other hand, performed in a cage, dressed like a devil, alongside drag stars Violet Chachki and Gottmik.
Controversy
Performance 'promoted worship of Satan'
Despite making history for the LGBTQ+ community by becoming the first non-binary and openly transgender woman, respectively, to bag a Grammy in the Best Pop Duo/Group category, the conservatives took to Twitter to bash Smith and Petras for their live performance. Expressing their anger, they claimed that the performance "promoted" the worship of Satan and that "Satanism" was being evoked by the singers.
Statement
'This is evil,' said Texas Senator Ted Cruz
On the performance, Texas Senator Ted Cruz said, "This is evil." He commented on conservative podcaster Liz Wheeler's tweet who wrote, "Don't fight the culture wars, they say. Meanwhile, demons are teaching your kids to worship Satan." Another Twitter user stated that the right-wingers probably use the word "satanic" too often, but this performance was "literally a tribute to Satan."
Twitter Post
Twitter Post
This…is…evil. https://t.co/SBrOgHfFcX
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) February 6, 2023
Bashing on Twitter
Congressional candidate bashed Smith and Petras
The former Congressional candidate for Tennessee's 5th district Robby Starbuck took to Twitter to bash the musicians and said that people who love to "mock Christianity" and "use Satanic themes" think that they are "super edgy artists, but in reality, they are not edgy." "They are rather boring, vile, and use rehashed shock tactics that Hollywood seals clap for because they're evil and stupid."
Twitter Post
Twitter Post
People like Sam Smith who love to mock Christianity and use Satanic themes always think they’re super edgy artists by doing it. In reality it’s not edgy. It’s boring, vile, rehashed shock tactics that Hollywood seals clap for because they’re evil & stupid. pic.twitter.com/Hmfo31M5NM
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) February 6, 2023
Events
Earlier, CBS's tweet landed in controversy
Before the event took place in Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, a tweet by broadcasting network CBS caused a stir online. During the rehearsals, Smith tweeted, "This is going to be special" and used a devil emoticon, along with posting some pictures. On this, CBS responded, "....you can say that again. We are ready to worship!" This tweet was later deleted by the network.